Eyes On Isles
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Islanders podcast: What to do in unrestricted free agency?

By Michel Anderson

Mike Hoffman #68 of the Florida Panthers (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
Mike Hoffman #68 of the Florida Panthers (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /
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What do the New York Islanders do with their pending unrestricted free agents and in the UFA market? We tell you what you need to know.

With the New York Islanders season over, we’ve transitioned our Patreon account slightly. Typically we put out post-game podcasts after every Isles game, but with no games, for the next three months, we’re recording deep dives on various topics during the offseason.

For our first offseason podcast, we’ve decided to tackle unrestricted free agency for the Islanders.

What do the Islanders do with their pending UFAs, what do they pay them, and what do they do in the UFA market? Do they take a dip and if so, what are they looking for?

You can sign up for our Patreon feed here to get this podcast as well as every other pod we’ve recorded. You’ll also get access to a community of Islanders fans, polls, mailbags, live streams, and a ton more.

Unrestricted Free Agency

Free agency begins on October 9 this year thanks to the delayed season. The Islanders have ten players that are scheduled to become UFAs in a few days. Here’s the list:

  • Matt Martin (LW)
  • Tom Kuhnhackl (LW/RW)
  • Derick Brassard (C)
  • Travis St Denis (C)*
  • Andy Greene (D)
  • Jordan Schmaltz (D)*
  • Seth Helgeson (D)*
  • Thomas Greiss (G)
  • Chris Gibson (G)*
  • Jared Coreau (G)*

*Played in the minors

Which one of these ten players do the Islanders keep going into 2020-21? Considering they’ve only got $8.905 million in cap space and with some premier RFAs yet to sign that’s not going to be enough to re-sign some of these UFAs.

That means fan favorites like Matt Martin and Thomas Greiss may not return, we discuss if either would be acceptable losses.

Lastly, we go over the UFA market. We take a look at what the New York Islanders need going forward and who’s available that can match those needs and, more importantly, how the Isles can make it all work (if at all).

Again, get the podcast here. You can also sign up to our Patreon feed today and don’t miss another Isles podcast again.

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