The NY Islanders May Be Looking to Sign a Little Known Defenseman for 2024-25

The NY Islanders' focus is currently on securing a place in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but behind the scenes, the front office is constantly working to improve the roster.

In a salary cap era, every team is on the prowl for players who can potentially outperform their contract. The Islanders are no different, and according to a report by Emmanuel Favre Montreal of LeMatin.ch, the team is interested in signing Andrea Glauser of Lausanne HC in the Swiss NL.

So who is Andrea Glauser you may ask? Well, probably the only way you've heard of Glauser is if you are an avid follower of Swiss hockey. He's a 28-year-old, 6'0" 190 lb. right-handed defenseman who's spent his entire life playing in Switzerland. Glauser serves as an alternate captain for Lausanne, recording 16 points (4 G, 12 A) in 47 games, and is currently playing in the semi-finals of the NL. He likes to play the transition game and throw his body around in the defensive end.

According to Montreal, a North American source believes the Islanders are the only team interested in Glauser as someone with no association with the Islanders or Lausanne but knows Lou Lamoriello made the 81-year-old aware of Glauser's skillset.

“All the signals are positive,” says the source, translated from LeMatin.ch. "There's still a way to go, but I wouldn't be surprised if the New York Islanders offered Glauser a one-year, $1.5 million contract."

If this source is accurate and the Islanders were to sign Glauser, he would not be eligible for an ELC, having to sign a standard, one-way contract, and would still have a $350k cap hit if demoted to the AHL.

With Robert Bortuzzo and Sebastian Aho looking like they'll hit the free-agent market on July 1, the Islanders have seven defensemen under contract, four on the left and three on the right. Glauser could provide more in the transition game as Noah Dobson has been the only defenseman who carries the puck up the ice with any consistency.

The jump from the NL to the NHL isn't made often as it's a demanding leap from a mid-tier European League to the best league in the world.

Coming off the books this off-season for the Islanders are Bortuzzo, Aho, Cal Clutterbuck, and Matt Martin, totaling $5.025M. The Islanders still need to re-sign Simon Holmstrom and Kyle MacLean, along with Ilya Sorokin's $8.5M contract entering year one. Lamoriello is already running out of spending money and will need to look for diamonds in the rough to improve his roster with Glauser as a potential player fitting that criteria.

Now that this news is circulating, Lamoriello may do what he's known to do when his business becomes public knowledge and elect to pull out of the (potential) deal altogether. Who knows, maybe this is a name Islanders fans will have to begin familiarizing themselves with.