On the New York Islanders …
John Shannon: There is no timeline for John Tavares to make a decision, and it’s being described as day-to-day. “Should be noted the Islanders’ advantage of offering an 8th year expires midnight on June 30th.”
Maple Leafs Hot Stove: Elliotte Friedman on his 31 Thoughts podcast was talking about the New York Islanders and their need for goaltending help.
“They have to sort out . I have heard that, by Grubauer going to Colorado, number one, I wonder if the Islanders make a pitch for Varlamov or Bernier. There are teams out there that need goalies. If I am Colorado, who wants a motivated Varlamov on the last year of his contract?”
Arthur Staple of The Athletic: 10 teams, including the Islanders, have shown interest in Islanders pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Calvin de Haan according to sources. de Haan is still rehabbing his shoulder after surgery back in January.
The Islanders weren’t interested in defenseman Jack Johnson. GM Lou Lamoriello could be interested in brining de Haan or Thomas Hickey back next year, or he could look at the trade market to improve their blue line.
The Islanders have spoken with Carter Hutton‘s camp, and they may have little interest in Jimmy Howard. Free agent options in net include Robin Lehner, Petr Mrazek and Jonathan Bernier.
Arthur Staple of The Athletic: What do the Islanders do if John Tavares signs elsewhere? They currently have $32.7 million in cap space with 13 players signed.
Paul Stastny would be the next best option at center. Would Lou Lamoriello be interested in Tyler Bozak? Bozak won’t have as much interest as Stastny will.
If Tavares lets the Islanders know in the next couple days that he’s not re-signing with them, they could call the Sabres before Ryan O’Reilly‘s $7.5 million bonus is due.
Cheaper trade options could be Andreas Athanasiou and Boone Jenner.