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New York Islanders Pending Free Agents Overview

By Matt Hawkins
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: Anders Lee #27 and Robin Lehner #40 of the New York Islanders celebrates Lee's goal at 17:44 of the third period against the Edmonton Oilers at the Barclays Center on February 16, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Islanders defeated the Oilers 5-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: Anders Lee #27 and Robin Lehner #40 of the New York Islanders celebrates Lee's goal at 17:44 of the third period against the Edmonton Oilers at the Barclays Center on February 16, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Islanders defeated the Oilers 5-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, COLORADO – DECEMBER 17: Jordan Eberle #7 of the New York Islanders plays the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center on December 17, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

UFAs

From here on out the rest of the players will be UFAs. UFAs can sign with any team without any restrictions besides the NHL salary cap.

Steve Bernier, RW

Currently, Bernier is 34 years old and is not getting any younger. Bernier spent this entire season down in Bridgeport mentoring the young, developing players.

As a bottom-six depth player, Bernier is a valuable piece. His current cap hit is a team friendly $650,000 and the Islanders may be keen on bringing him back at this price on a one-year deal.

Tom Kuhnhackl, RW

Kuhnhackl is another bottom-six depth piece. At 27 years old, Islanders management values his veteran presence and defensive ability as a forward.

However, scoring just nine points (four goals, five assists) in 36 games this year shows that Kuhnhackl is just bottom-six depth talent and should not be paid much more than his current cap hit of $700,000.

If another team were to offer him a multi-year deal, Kuhnhackl will most likely be headed there as the Islanders won’t want to offer him more than a 1-year deal.

Jordan Eberle, RW

Coming off one of the worst years in his career is not going to be a good thing for Eberle’s contract negotiations. Playing in 78 games this season, Eberle only managed to score 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists). As a guy who is supposed to be a top-six goal scorer and is currently being paid $6 million, he is most likely not going to get anything close to that with his next contract.

Going with the trend of lack of success this season, Eberle does not have much success in the playoffs. Although he had nine points (four goals, five assists) in eight games this postseason, Eberle only had two assists in Edmonton’s 13-game run in 2016-17. That’s a total of 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 21 games.

With Eberle’s subpar 2018-19 season and his lack of production during the playoffs in his career, it is hard to believe he will get anything close to his previous contract of six years for a total of $36 million. Eberle’s current value most likely stands between $3-4 million, depending on the length of the contract.

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