NY Islanders re-sign goaltender Jakub Skarek to new contract

Just a day after it was announced the NY Islanders restricted free agent Oliver Wahlstrom had signed his qualifying offer, it's now been revealed that goaltender Jakub Skarek has inked a two-year, two-way deal to remain with the organization. He carries an annual cap hit of $775k if he were to see time in the NHL.

Now that Corey Schneider has given up on his hopes of returning to the NHL as hopes to continue his career in Europe, Skarek will come into the season as the Bridgeport Islanders' number one goaltender, where he'll possibly be platooned with prospect Tristan Lennox.

Drafted by the Islanders in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Skarek made his North American debut rather quickly. In 2019, at 19 years old, Skarek first appeared with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, serving as a backup. After four seasons in the AHL, Skarek more recently grew into a timeshare with Schneider, appearing in a career-high 38 games this past season. Standing 6'3" and 200 lbs, Skarek has the tools to become an NHL-caliber goaltender, at least as a backup, but he hasn't exactly lit it up during his time in Bridgeport, posting a career 3.34 GAA and .893 Sv%.

Skarek has been the organization's top goaltending prospect until drafting Lennox, but he's put in his time and at 23 years old, is looking toward making his NHL debut.

There were thoughts that Skarek could return to Europe when a major wrench was thrown in his plans, with the organization re-signing Ilya Sorokin to an 8-year deal and Semyon Varlamov to a 4-year extension. Now as the bonafide number one in the crease for the B-Isles, Skarek will be the first in line for the call-up should Sorokin or Varlamov go down with an injury for any period of time.

As he now plays a more pivotal role in Bridgeport, it remains to be seen if he can handle the daily rigors of a starting position.