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The Greiss is right: Isles goalie signs a three-year extension

At least there is some positive news today!

By Steven E. Smith
My beautiful boy is sticking around.
My beautiful boy is sticking around.
Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Thomas Greiss has signed a three-year extension, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. The financial terms have yet to be disclosed but we will update this post with that information when it becomes available. UPDATE:

This is a very good deal, in my largely unscientific opinion. It gives Greiss an AAV of $3.33 million.

Greiss signed a two-year deal with the Islanders in the summer of 2015 to back up Jaroslav Halak. Halak went down to start the season, however, and Greiss saw his workload increase as the 2015-16 season wore on. Halak was also hurt again, in March of last season, with a groin injury that caused him to miss 6-8 weeks. As a result, Greiss was given the starter's role to end last season.

And did he ever run with the opportunity. In the regular season, over 41 games played, Greiss recorded a .934 even-strength save percentage (according to corsica.hockey). The Isles starter going into the playoffs, he was the main reason the Isles were able to advance past the Florida Panthers (with a little help from John Tavares and virtually no one else).

He maintained his stellar play, posting a .941 save percentage (according to Islanders Point Blank) throughout the Florida series. Over a six-game series that featured three overtime games, he was the reason the Islanders were able to withstand Florida's nearly-dominant attack.

This season has been more of the same for ol' Tommy, posting a .936 even-strength save percentage through 25 games (also according to corsica.hockey) and having been named the unequivocal starter for the rest of this season, with Halak having been waived and demoted to Bridgeport. If you put any weight into advanced goalie statistics, Greiss has been an utter revelation:

Basically, given the amount of shots he has faced, Greiss has saved the third-highest percentage of shots he shouldn't have. In other words, he's been saving our bacon (also, if someone knows this statistic better, please let me know if I am explaining it incorrectly or missing something).

Good for Thomas, who seemingly just needed a chance to be a starter to prove that he could do it. The three-year deal also allows some comfort and flexibility for the Islanders: they've got their starter for at least next season, as well as possibly the following season. It also allows the team to transition from Greiss to, say, Ilya Sorokin, if and when he decides to come over to North America, while having some stability in case Sorokin doesn't work out.