Islanders goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin addresses trade rumor

The hottest goalie outside of the NHL belongs to the New York Islanders. Today, Sorokin addressed a rumor that he’s trying to force a trade from the Isles.

With a 1.50GAA and a 0.936SV% this season, New York Islanders goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin is having yet another remarkable season with CSKA Moscow. Because of that it’s easy to see why the Islanders want him over here as soon as possible. With his KHL contract set to expire at the end of the season, he could be here as early as next season.

But a note from

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Freidman

in his weekly 31 thoughts column indicated that Sorokin might be looking to force a trade away from the New York Islanders.

Rumor Squashed

On Thursday, Sorokin squashed that rumor in the best way possible.

In days past a prospect looking to get traded away from the New York Islanders wouldn’t be entirely surprising. They haven’t always been a well-run organization. But things are different now. Specifically for goalies.

Since Mitch Korn was hired as the Director of Goaltending and Pierro Greco was made the full-time goalie coach in 2018 every single goalie they’ve touched has become a Vezina level goalie.

In 2018-19 they turned Thomas Greiss from a 3.82GAA and 0.892SV% (some of the worst numbers in the league) into a 2.28GAA and 0.927SV% goalie (some of the best numbers in the league). And that wasn’t a fluke. This season, Greiss is averaging a 2.39GAA and 0.924SV%.

The same thing happened to Robin Lehner last year. Before coming to the Island, Lehner averaged a 3.01GAA and a 0.908SV%. In his first and only season with the Isles, he averaged a 2.13GAA and 0.930SV%.

And now this season, Semyon Varlamov is hitting a 2.37GAA and 0.923SV% after moving from Colorado as a free agent where he averaged a 2.87GAA and 0.909S% in 2018-19.

Why wouldn’t Sorokin want to be part of that type of setup?

If he’s looking to get a big payday ASAP there’s no better way to do it than by joining a team that will almost certainly help you hit lower than a 2.40GAA and above a 0.920SV%. Last time I checked those are elite-level goalie numbers and elite-level goalies get paid even later in their careers like Carey Price and Sergei Bobrovsky did.

I have no doubt we’ll be welcoming Ilya Sorokin to the New York Islanders next season. And I can’t wait to see the Russian goalie wear blue and orange.