The New York Islanders had to make a tough decision this offseason, trading away Devon Toews as a result of their cap situation– but they could still have more tough decisions to make in a year’s time.
While the majority of players on the team in need of an extension next year will be restricted free agents, the Islanders will have one key unrestricted free agent heading to next offseason, and that’s Casey Cizikas. Cizikas has spent parts of the last nine seasons with the Islanders and has been part of the organization since being drafted by the team 11 years ago. While he’s been a key member of the team’s bottom-six and one of the best fourth-line centers in the NHL for a while now, it remains to be seen as to whether Cizikas will be with the Islanders past this coming season.
Right now, Cizikas’ contract carries an AAV of $3.35 million and that’s not a number the Islanders should be willing to give out on a future contract for the center. He’s not playing in a large enough role to warrant that money and isn’t likely to take on a larger role down the road. On top of that, New York will still have to be cautious of their spending, with Anthony Beauvillier, Adam Pelech and Ilya Sorokin all becoming restricted free agents next year.
Cizikas will be 30 years old when it comes time to sign a new contract and while he’s not necessarily going to get a long-term deal, that is an age where you start to worry about the potential for a decline. If the Islanders were to bring him back, ideally, it’s more like a two-year contract.
The other question that will be key is whether the team has someone who can take over for Cizikas. As of now, Otto Koivula seems to be the only center prospect who's likely to be ready for a full-time NHL role by then, but it remains to be seen as to whether he’d be a fit as a fourth-line center.
One thing to keep in mind is that if the market doesn’t improve ahead of next offseason, teams still won’t be looking to give out much money, especially to a fourth-line center entering his 30s. That means Cizikas’ price will likely be lower than it would have been in a normal market and the Islanders could potentially bring him back at a lower price.
We can imagine that the Islanders would likely hope to re-sign Cizikas, however, it’ll probably come down to whether or not they can make a contract work.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Do you think the 2020-21 season with be Casey Cizikas' last with the Islanders?
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