Three surprising moves by the New York Islanders’ ahead Opening Night roster

The New York Islanders announced their final roster ahead of Monday’s 5 pm deadline. As such, coach Patrick Roy and GM Lou Lamoriello made the last cuts, setting the team for Opening night against the Utah Hockey Club.

While there weren’t many surprises expected this upcoming season, the truth is that the final cuts yield some eyebrow-raising moves. So, let’s discuss three surprising names that made the New York Islanders' final roster for this season.

Three surprising names that made the final cuts for the New York Islanders' Opening Night roster

Dennis Cholowski

While Cholowski making the team wasn’t an Earth-shattering surprise, it was interesting to see him beat out Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc.

At the beginning of camp, Bolduc seemed to have the inside track on the seventh defenseman slot. But after the way Roy praised Hutton and Cholowski following preseason games, it was clear Bolduc was on the way out.

As for Hutton, he should be the first man up in case of injuries. While we hope that won’t be the case, Hutton could see some action this season, especially in emergency situations. Perhaps the Isles can clear cap space to carry an eighth defenseman at some point this season.

Ilya Sorokin

The buzz surrounding Sorokin’s offseason surgery led us down a deep, dark rabbit hole. Personally, I ordered my stress tabs by the case, in preparation for a season without Sorokin. However, the move to send Marcus Hogberg down to Bridgeport signals that Sorokin is good to go for the start of the season.

Naturally, Semyon Varlamov should get the lion’s share of starts to open the season. Sorokin should eventually make a few starts in October, especially with the Isles scheduled to play back-to-back nights on October 25 and 26.

Perhaps we could see Sorokin make his season debut on October 14 against the Colorado Avalanche. Ultimately, it’s wonderful news to see Sorokin ready to hit the ice this season.

Pierre Engvall

All right, this move was a mild shocker. I don’t think anyone really thought it would come to this, but it did. The Isles placed Engvall on waivers. As of the time of this writing, Engvall cleared, making him eligible to play for Bridgeport. Whether he reports, that’s another story.

Engvall may refuse to report to Bridgeport and demand a trade. While that’s a possibility, it seems unlikely. It’s hard to imagine there would be any takers for Engvall’s contract at this point. Perhaps a club like the Columbus Blue Jackets looking to hit the cap floor might be enticed to take on Engvall’s contact.

Anyhow, the Isles have now buried Engvall’s contract in the minors. According to PuckPedia, Engvall still counts for $1.85 against the cap. That move helps the Isles become cap-compliant without losing any roster players.

Ultimately, it’s too bad Engvall’s situation has come to this. But the writing was on the wall. Engvall did not fit into Roy’s system, making him the Isles’ first cap casualty of the season.