Why NY Islanders G Semyon Varlamov took very risky chance to keep career alive

There would have been an easier decision for Semyon Varlamov to make.

After years of knee problems and facing a surgery so significant that even Pete DeBoer wasn't sure what to expect, Varlamov could have decided his NHL career had gone far enough. He had nothing left to prove to his teammates, coaches, and opponents around the league. There was only one problem with the idea of stepping away from the game he loves.

He wasn't ready.

"I wasn't ready to retire mentally. I just wasn't there," Varlamov said. "I still have a lot of respect and love for the game, and I want to be around this team."

So Varlamov chose the harder option: double knee surgery and a long rehabilitation without much precedent for what his recovery might look like.

"That was kind of like a crazy idea, very risky idea," Varlamov said. "But I took a risk and then had to do a lot of rehab, and then just had to be very, very patient about the whole thing."

Now he's back.

Even DeBoer admits he initially tried to temper his expectations.

"I didn't want to get excited about seeing him back because it's such a significant surgery and no one has really done it," DeBoer said. "I started to get more excited in the summer because every time I'd come back, I'd see him, he looked great."

The comeback could also have a major impact on Ilya Sorokin.

DeBoer wants Islanders backup goaltenders to play around 30 games this season, a significant number considering how heavily Sorokin has been relied upon. Sorokin wore down during the second half last season after spending much of the year among the Vezina Trophy favorites.

A healthy Varlamov could change that equation.

Nobody should expect the Islanders to know exactly what they're getting yet. Looking good during the summer and handling an NHL workload after double knee surgery are very different things.

But Varlamov has already cleared the biggest hurdle.

He wanted another chance badly enough to undergo a procedure even he called "crazy" and "very risky."

Now he's back in an Islanders crease.

And if his knees cooperate, this comeback could help both Varlamov extend his career and Sorokin preserve his best hockey for when the Islanders need it most

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