The New York Islanders were dealt another crushing blow when Mathew Barzal blocked a Darren Raddysh shot during Saturday’s 2-1 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning:
As a result, the star forward will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, joining a long list of Islanders already on the injury report in Noah Dobson, Scott Mayfield, Ryan Pulock, Semyon Varlamov, Marcus Hogberg, Mike Reilly, and Hudson Fasching.
Barzal’s injury has no timeline, but it seems like he’ll be out, at least, for the rest of the regular season.
With that, the Islanders’ playoff chances would appear slim, but that does not mean general manager Lou Lamoriello is ready to wave the white flag.
The team is currently within reach of a playoff spot and fresh off a seven-game win streak, going 8-1-0 in their last nine games.
Barzal also missed 21 games earlier this season, and the team went a respectable 9-7-5 in that span — good for a 90-point pace.
A lot has to go right for Patrick Roy’s squad to make the playoffs, but if the team can find a way, they may be able to follow the strategy recently equipped by the 2023 Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, the team they just beat 2-1 on Tuesday night at UBS Arena:
During the 2022-23 season, Vegas placed Mark Stone on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) list on Feb. 20.
He was activated on April 18, just in time for Game 1 of Round 1 of the playoffs.
Stone played in all 22 playoff games for Vegas, scoring 24 points (11 goals & 13 assists) en route to winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
Vegas was able to activate Stone’s salary without penatly for the playoffs because roster salary limitations go away once the regular season comes to an official end.
With his $9.5 million AAV off the books in the regular season, Vegas acquired Ivan Barbashev, who went on to score 16 points (six goals & 10 assists) in 23 regular season games before 18 points (seven goals & 11 assists) in 22 playoff games.
Jonathan Quick and Teddy Blueger were also brought in with the freed cap space, though they were less impactful.
Last season, Vegas tried this strategy again when Stone got hurt but ultimately fell to the Dallas Stars in Round 1 of the playoffs.
The Golden Knights are the most prominent team to deploy this LTIR strategy, but the Tampa Bay Lightning made a similar move with Nikita Kucherov en route to winning the 2021 Stanley Cup.
The Islanders are not a solidified playoff team like the Golden Knights and Lightning were in the seasons they legally used the LTIR system to their advantage, but that does not mean similar maneuveres are not possible.
While Barzal’s $9.15 million salary remains on the books, given that he is only on IR at this time, the Islanders could add multiple pieces to solidify the team’s depth and place him on LTIR after.
Related: Islanders Place Mathew Barzal On Injured Reserve, Not Long-Term Injured Reserve, For Now
The length of these salaries would not be a significant concern, as the salary cap is expected to rise to around $95 million for next season — a $7 million bump from the $88 million cap ceiling set for this current 2024-25 season.
Who these additions could be and Barzal’s recovery timeline are two of the major unknowns with this strategy.
Players like Seattle Kraken’s Yanni Gourde, Vancouver Canuck Elias Pettersson or Brock Boeser, and even a player like Winnipeg Jets Nikolaj Ehlers could be potential fits.
A long-term injury to a player of Barzal’s caliber would be detrimental to most NHL teams’ playoff aspirations, so shifting directions for the rest of the season could be an understandable decision.
However, the Islanders are just days removed from their seven-game win streak, and the upcoming two-week break for the 4-Nations Faceoff tournament could give the team much-needed time to recover and get as healthy as possible for the stretch run.
For now, the Islanders will likely evaluate the newcomers to the roster—defensemen Tony DeAngelo, Adam Boqvist, and Scott Perunoivch—before making any decisions.
But, if the team believes they can still make the playoffs without Barzal, Lamoriello might push all his chips in to use the LTIR rule to his advantage.
And you may be saying,” Well, the Islanders have to sell.”
If the Islanders continue to win, Lamoriello likely won’t sell, and given how his team has played despite so many injuries to critical pieces, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him reward his guys and give them a shot.
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