NY Islanders' Goalie Situation is at an Impasse

The New York Islanders' goalie situation has reached an impasse, a point at which they must make a decision sooner or later before any further progress can be made. Before Sunday's 3-2 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ilya Sorokin had made 12 consecutive starts - a league-high for 2024-25. Semyon Varlamov has yet to resume skating after an injury sustained in the 5-4 overtime loss to Washington on November 29. Marcus Hogberg entered action on Sunday having not seen an NHL start since April 28, 2021, but made a good showing for himself, saving 38 of 41 Penguins shots, and 2.05 GAx, according to Moneypuck.

The NY Islanders may have a goalie dilemma

So what are the Islanders to do once the ailing Varlamov returns from LTIR? Hogberg's Sunday performance has certainly merited a second showing somewhere in the near future, and Ilya Sorokin, with his $8.25M cap hit, is not going anywhere anytime soon. That leaves Varlamov in a bit of an uncomfortable position given his $2.750M hit, plus his lengthening track record for missing prolonged stretches during the regular season.

Varlamov has not made 30 appearances in an NHL regular season since 2021-22 when the Islanders' veteran netminder made 29 starts with two relief appearances. That season saw him post the third-lowest wins total for a season in his career, with a 10-17-2 record. That record does not match the goalie's performance, as he saved roughly 6.9 GAx, according to HockeyViz. But, it remains a fact that Varlamov missed multiple stretches of time then, just as he has done in each of the last three Islanders seasons.

It's another difficult decision to make among a slew of others as this organization traverses a rocky 2024-25 campaign and beyond. Varlamov, who has spent each of the last six seasons on Long Island, likely doesn't figure into the team's future, especially if Hogberg can make a habit of turning in solid performances as we saw on Sunday. How the Islanders decide to proceed once the 36-year-old Russian does return from injury will be highly intriguing.