Islanders: Mathew Barzal Negotiations Expected To Pick Up (Rumor)

With training camp now a week away, there are rumblings of negotiations heating up between Mathew Barzal and the New York Islanders.

According to David Pagnotta, the New York Islanders and Mathew Barzal negotiations are expected to heat up this week with training camp starting on January 3. As Pagnotta explains, the two groups have been talking daily.

That comes as no surprise to anyone, as this has been reported multiple times by so many different people. Lou Lamoriello moves at a sloth’s pace at times, and this is one of those instances.

Never for a second did I think Mathew Barzal wouldn’t be signed before camp, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at minimum a little frustrated with how long it’s taken both sides.

Supposedly, Barzal is expected to make his return to Long Island today, according to Rob Taub. If that’s the case then I fully expect Barzal to sign a deal at some point this week for the Islanders.

Once that deal is done, then I think we see the announcements for Matt Martin, Andy Greene, Corey Schneider, and potentially Derrick Brassard as well.

There’s no denying how important Mathew Barzal is to this Islanders team, as he had 60 points (19 goals, 41 assists) in 68 games last season for the team. In 234 career games, he has 207 points to his name.

Without a doubt, he’s the Islander that holds the most likely sign a bridge deal for either two or three years in the $7 million range. A long-term deal seems unlikely due to the cap restrictions of COVID over the next few years.

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It makes no sense for Barzal to lock himself into a cap number under market value when he can renegotiate in two or three years at 25 years old in the prime of his career. Don’t panic Islanders fans, Barzal will be signed soon. We just have to be patient, unfortunately.