Islanders News: Free agent time extended; Prospects on board; Brassard the Boss

So is Ilya Sorokin gonna sign with the Islanders? We - still - don’t know. As we’ve discussed earlier, the timing on an NHL restart and the next KHL season starting means he might miss an opportunity to burn his ELC this season and could possibly prefer a return to Russia.

Insider Darren Dreger talked about free agents like Sorokin and Habs defenseman Alexander Romanov, the NHLPA and their respective clubs wanting to get the same treatment that they would have gotten had the league not paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline for deals like this has been pushed from June 1st to July 1st, giving everyone an extra month to perhaps come to an agreement to allow these players into the possible 24-team tournament the NHL announced earlier this week.

You can watch the full segment of TSN’s Insiders here, in which Dreger expands on this.

Meanwhile, over at Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman drops this nugget about the whole issue in his 31 Thoughts column. I wonder who he was talking to. My money’s on Marc Bergevin.

6. I don’t profess to know the CBA as well as some of the people involved, but I was talking to a team affected by the NHL’s desire not to allow anyone to sign players for the remainder of the 2019–20 season. This includes valuable KHL transplants like Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota), Alexander Romanov (Montreal) and Ilya Sorokin (Islanders). His position was, “If it is allowed every other year, what in our agreement prevents it this year?” I honestly don’t know if he’s got a legit beef or not, but the June 1 entry-level deadline will be pushed back to July 1 to give everyone more time to figure this out.

So, again, we’ll wait and see. Everyone’s got the time now, so they’re probably gonna use it.

Speaking of time, the earliest camps could open is July 10th, per the NHL. That doesn’t mean they will open on July 10th, they just won’t open before then.

Further Friday Reading

• Actual Islanders Transactions! Junior prospects Felix Bibeau, Cole Coskey and Blade Jenkins have signed their entry level deals. Welcome aboard, boys. All are eligible for the AHL next season. [Islanders | Michael Fornabaio on those and other AHL notes]
• Barry Trotz knows goalies will be the key to the qualifying rounds. [Newsday]
• And you know Panthers GM Dale Tallon knows aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall about what the Islanders are capable of in a short series. [Newsday]
• Jordan Eberle called into a radio station to talk about the potential craziness of playing in a quasi-playoff series, with or without fans in the seats. [620 CKRM]
• Congrats to Derick Brassard, who’s now a part owner of the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques.
• And congrats to Leon Draisaitl on winning this season’s Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. Alex Ovechkin won his ninth Rocket Richard Trophy, sharing it with David Pastrnak. Boston’s Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak were named the winners of this season’s Jennings Trophy.
• Whooooo, boy. Jack Eichel does not sound like a happy camper, as he tees off on the Sabres’ losing ways. [DBTB]

This is really well done by the Lightning’s Alex Killorn. The music really makes it.