Semyon Varlamov | Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
The New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) are working on replacing second goaltender Semyon Varlamov and assistant captain Josh Bailey, The Fourth Period columnist James Nichols reports.
In this way, the “Islanders” want to free up space in the salary resources, since the amount of the contract of both players is five million US dollars. The 34-year-old Varlamov has one more final year left on his contract, while the 32-year-old Bailey’s contract foresees cooperation for the next two seasons.
It is noted that the “Islanders” are ready to replace Varlamov, because another Russian goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin, who saved 92.5% of shots in 52 games in the regular season and allowed an average of 2.4 goals per game, proved himself as the number one last season. For comparison, Varlamov played in 31 matches, where he excelled with 91.1% shooting and 2.91 rebounds per game.
In case of a successful exchange of Varlamov, the club plans to find a replacement for him for a lower amount of money. Specific trade options are not yet known, but the Vegas Golden Knights and the goaltender’s former team, the Colorado Avalanche, were interested in him before the trade deadline. Other possible options are the Edmonton Oilers and another hockey player’s former club, the Washington Capitals. However, it should be noted that Varlamov’s contract has a transfer restriction, that is, he can name 16 clubs to the team management, to which he cannot be transferred.
Meanwhile, 32-year-old assistant captain Bailey, who was drafted by the Islanders with the eighth overall pick in the 2008 draft, played his 14th season with New York and the league as a whole. In the 2021/2022 season, Bailey played in 74 games in which he scored 14 goals and provided 30 assists, but in his career, the striker played a total of 993 games in the NHL regular season. The Seattle Kraken and Arizona Coyotes could be interested in Bailey’s services.
