With Ilya Sorokin now in the mix, the New York Islanders have decisions to make in net. Between Sorokin, Thomas Greiss and Semyon Varlamov, someone isn’t starting the 2020-21 season with the Islanders.
Considering Varlamov is locked into a deal at $5 million per year for three more seasons, it's pretty much certain he'll be back with New York next season. The Islanders could always look to deal him to a team in need of a starter and re-sign Greiss, but it’s certainly the least likely scenario and doesn’t make much sense.
Chances are, Thomas Greiss will be on his way out of New York.
If the AHL season does start on time, a couple months ahead of the NHL season’s start, the Islanders would have an easy scenario where Sorokin can play with Bridgeport for a while before joining the Islanders. It’s also been reported that Sorokin is open to starting the year in the AHL.
#Isles Lou Lamoriello says Ilya Sorokin is open to playing in the AHL. Hope is, Lou says, AHL can start its 2020-21 season before NHL, which plans to begin on Dec. 1.
Chances are, Sorokin would spend a few months in the AHL, with the intention of having him join the Islanders for the start of the NHL season. If this doesn’t happen, however, and the seasons start around the same time or the NHL season even starts ahead of the AHL season, the Islanders have a decision to make. Either Sorokin starts in the NHL or the Islanders need a backup goalie.
As for Sorokin starting in the NHL right away, the only con here is if he wasn’t able to adjust to the league immediately and too much strain is put on Varlamov as a result. Considering Varlamov can be inconsistent from year to year, this could be seen as a bit of a concern. I’d maybe be worried about this if Sorokin was quite a bit younger and didn’t have as strong of a track record in the KHL, but the chances that he takes any lengthy time to adjust or doesn’t do so at all are quite slim.
On the other hand, if management is insistent on Sorokin starting in Bridgeport rather than in the NHL, the Islanders would need another goalie. The chances of the Islanders being able to bring Greiss back on a one-year deal, however, are slim. If Greiss hits free agency, he’ll likely be able to fetch at least a two-year deal, based on his performance over the past two seasons, which the Islanders likely wouldn’t want to give out. If he was struggling for whatever reason as the Islanders wanted to bring up Sorokin midway through the season, Greiss could be difficult to trade if he has term remaining. This means either way, he's unlikely to be back with the Islanders next season.
The ideal situation is obviously for the AHL season to start on time, which gives the Islanders an easy route to take with Sorokin. However if the seasons start around the same time or the NHL season was to start before the AHL’s season for whatever reason, I’d bet Sorokin starts with the Islanders right away. Getting him into AHL action is a bonus, but if it’s not an option, the Islanders shouldn’t bring Greiss or another backup goalie on board in the meantime, while Sorokin would be just as likely to succeed in the NHL.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Islanders Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Islanders for updates on articles, Islanders news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Do you think Ilya Sorokin needs to play in the AHL before joining the Islanders?
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»