The Islanders are dealing with injuries after beating Buffalo on Friday night.
To adjust their lineup, they called up Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc from AHL Bridgeport. Adam Pelech is now on injured reserve, and Mathew Barzal has been moved to LTIR to keep the team under the salary cap. Meanwhile, Mike Reilly and Alexander Romanov are day-to-day with upper-body injuries. Barzal’s injury forced him off the road trip for more tests, revealing he’ll be out for four to six weeks. His absence is a big blow since he’s one of their key players despite his slow start this season with only two goals and three assists in ten games.
Pelech was also hurt against the Sabres and shares Barzal’s recovery timeline. With Barzal’s $9.15M AAV on LTIR, Pelech doesn’t need to be moved there yet as they have enough spending room now . This marks the third year in a row that Pelech will miss significant time due to injury—tough luck for someone who plays over 20 minutes each game! He’s already racked up four assists, 12 blocks, and 17 hits in just 11 games.
Roster Changes:
Hutton is wrapping up his third season on a one-way deal worth $775K annually but has mostly played in the minors, appearing only twice with the main squad over two years. So far this season, he’s got two assists in nine AHL matches. Bolduc is more known by coaches; he played 34 games last year but wasn’t claimed off waivers recently. Earning $800K this year on a one-way contract, he has five points from nine AHL outings.
Fans might wonder if these changes will help or hurt their favorite team.
Reilly also got injured against Buffalo; it was bad enough that they brought out a stretcher! Thankfully he managed to leave without using it but didn’t return to play. Romanov took some hits too but made it back into action during that game. Now with these call-ups, Islanders have six healthy defenders ready—hoping either Reilly or Romanov can bounce back soon!
What do you think about all these roster moves?
