AHL: Islanders sign goalie Christopher Gibson, D Seth Helgeson to new deals

The New York Islanders have reached new two-year, two-way deals with goaltender Christopher Gibson and defenseman Seth Helgeson, according to Renaud Lavoie, of TVA, who tweeted out terms.

Both are new contracts for veterans with their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but they are players with NHL experience and provide callup depth in the event of injuries. According to CapFriendly, it’s basically a renewal of Helgeson’s old contract, but with a $50,000 raise (NHL) in the second year of the deal. But for Gibson, it’s a significant raise as he jumps up from a previous $70,000 AHL salary to $225,000 this coming season and $250,000 in 2019-20.

Gibson, 25, saw eight NHL starts last season in just such a scenario, adding two more wins to his nascent career total after making his NHL debut in 2015-16. (Gibson’s 2016-17 season was mostly ruined by injury and rehab.)

Helgeson, 27, has 50 NHL games played, all with the Devils before being signed by the Islanders. He’s yet to see any NHL action with the Islanders but is valued for his contributions at the AHL level. He was a New Jersey 2009 (4th round) draft pick back when Lou Lamoriello ran the Devils.

The Islanders haven’t announced these extensions, and the irony of us posting this minor news on the day when Everyone Is Waiting for John Tavares is not lost on us. (Oh, how we already miss the days when minor but necessary AHL signings were greeted with “GREAT JARB GARTH,” and “CUPS OURZ NOW!” on the twitter-webz.)

But, it’s necessary business. Might as well mark it while we’re sitting around waiting for...wait what is it we’re waiting on again?