NY Islanders Kyle Palmieri expects to be ready to go next season following ACL tear

NY Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri went down with one of the worst knee injuries a player can suffer back in November. But the Long Island native expects to be fully healthy and ready for the 2026-27 season by the time training camp begins.

In a matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers on November 28th, Palmieri went down in the corner of the offensive zone while attempting to play the puck. The Flyers brought the puck back into the zone, unaware of Palmieri limping to the bench right behind them. The veteran stripped the puck, saucing it over to Jonathan Drouin, who then dropped it to Emil Heineman, who finished it for a beautiful goal.

Unfortunately, this lovely setup would be the last for Palmieri this season. The news would come out that night that he tore his ACL and would be out for the rest of the season.

Palmieri has his eyes set on training camp.

Although the recovery of a torn ACL is one of the toughest injuries in sports, Palmieri spoke to the media on breakout day and expects to be ready for training camp in September. "I've been on the ice for a while now, and things are progressing really well," Palmieri said. "All signs point to having a healthy summer and getting myself ready for next season."

When asked if the 35-year-old would be ready for camp, he gave a promising answer. "Oh yeah, I don't expect anything else," he said. "I'm a little over four months post-op, and it's feeling really good on the ice. I'm looking forward to putting this behind me and having a normal summer as far as training and getting ready for the season."

When he returns to action, Palmieri will be one of the few Islanders yet to play under new head coach Pete DeBoer, who was signed with four games left in the regular season. "I'm looking forward to getting to know him better, and having a full training camp to make sure we're ready to go for the start of next season, " Palmieri said about the new bench boss and how the Isles will get acclimated to his style of play for the 2026-27 season.

Palmieri finished his 2025-26 season with only 25 games played. He scored six goals and added 12 assists for 18 points in those contests. Upon his return to the team next season, he should once again be a big factor on offense for the Isles.

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