Islanders sign RFA Mathew Barzal to three-year deal

Well, it finally happened. The Islanders and RFA Mathew Barzal have agreed to a three-year contract, ending this saga.

Dave Pagnotta sent out the first tweet, reporting that a deal had been reached. Arthur Staple retweeted it, and Andrew Gross confirmed it, as well.

The reports continue to filter out, and it appears that the Islanders wrangled in Barzal at a $7 million cap hit for the next three years.

The pandemic, and the financial troubles it has created, forced many teams to back-load as much and as legally as possible the contracts to which they signed their players. Based on Darren Dreger’s report, this contract tracks the same path.

But this deal gives the Islanders flexibility for this season. No longer will they be required to move out another contract. Though that may not stop them from trying.

On an encouraging note, Barzal and the Islanders both pushed for a six-year contract. They just could not make the money work at this time. But it is nice to see that Barzal wants to stick around for a while.

And he will have the chance to stick around with the Islanders when this deal expires. The deal takes him right up to his final year of RFA.

As comfortable as we all seemed throughout the process, no one could deny, as training camp neared its end and the regular season approached, that the tension began to bubble. But we can put these fears to bed, now.

And it seems like Barzal longed to be back on the ice with the boys—he scored a goal on each of his first two shifts in today’s practice scrimmage.

Glad to have you back, dude.