The NY Islanders may have a bigger fish in mind with their influx of Russian players

The NY Islanders have been stockpiling Russian talent over the last three seasons. The crease was locked up first, as Ilya Sorokin joined Semyon Varlamov between the pipes, followed by the acquisition of Alexander Romanov from the Montreal Canadiens. Then last year, the Isles signed the top free agent out of the KHL in Max Tsyplakov, continuing the trend this season with Maxim Shabanov.

With potentially five Russian players (Varlamov’s health leaves a question mark) on the opening night roster, the Islanders' lineup is one of the most Russian-inspired in the NHL. 

Do the Isles have 2025-26 free agency in mind?

Players coming from Russia surely find comfort with teammates who have similar values and speak a common language, so will the Islanders continue looking to add Russian players next season?

Well, there happens to be one Russian player scheduled to become a free agent on July 1, 2026, in superstar Kirill Kaprizov.

Kaprizov has been one of the NHL’s premier players since entering the league for the 2020-21 season. With 386 points in 319 career games, few players can fill the stat sheet like the Novokuznetsk native.

On pace for an MVP-like season in 2024-25, Kaprizov registered 56 points (25 G, 31 A) in 41 games before a lower-body injury forced him to miss 40 of the final 43 games of the season. 

The Islanders have been building a strong lineup, but have been missing that player with game-breaking ability. It’s been over 30 years since an Islanders player has put up a 100-point season (Pierre Turgeon, 132 points in 1992-93), and Kaprizov would be that player who makes the Isles a perennial Stanley Cup contender.

Mathieu Darche has stated that his decisions in re-signing players and bringing in new free agents were made with the next few years in mind. The Islanders will shed plenty of salary cap after the 2025-26 season as the contracts of Anders Lee ($7M) and JG Pageau ($5M) are set to expire, as well as an $8.5M increase in the salary cap for 2025-26.

The Islanders will have the money that a player like Kaprizov will be seeking, and joining an organization filled with his fellow countrymen could be a way to lure the superstar to Long Island.