The Last Time The Islanders Made Signings On September 1st

We have reached September 1st, as hockey will be played this month.

Outside of any PTOs that come to Long Island, the New York Islanders aren't likely to sign any players, but they are not shocked if Matt Martin is on the ice when training camp begins.

Yes, we know what the cap situation looks like. Just don't be shocked.

It's been a few years since the Islanders made any signings on Sept. 1, so let's take a look back, shall we?

The 2021 offseason was quiet for the Islanders, with general manager Lou Lamoriello keeping the cards close to his chest regarding signings.

Our Stefen Rosner reported the news a few months prior that Lamoriello had signed Zach Parise, the former 17th overall pick in 2003 when he was at the helm of the New Jersey Devils.

The Parise signing was made official on Sept. 13, 2021.

Lamoriello officially signed four long-term contracts on Sept. 1, 2021, inking forwards Casey Cizikas, Kyle Palmieri, and Anthony Beauvillier and netminder Ilya Sorokin to new deals.

The deals for each of the players were as follows:

• Kyle Palmieri: Four years, $20 million ($5 million AAV)

• Casey Cizikas: Six years, $15 million ($2.5 million AAV)
  

• Anthony Beauvillier: Three years, $12.45 million ($4.15 million AAV)

• Ilya Sorokin: Three years, $12 million ($4 million AAV)

Two of those deals have expired three years later, while the other two are close to expiring.

In the years since those signings, they have each held up to various degrees for the franchise.

First, there's Palmieri's deal, which is entering the final year of its run.

The forward inked his contract following his age 30 season and a mid-season trade to New York from the Devils at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline.

After the trade, Palmieri struggled to finish the 2021 regular season, scoring just two goals and two assists for four points in 17 games.

However, he was instrumental in their postseason run that year, scoring a team-best seven goals to guide them to the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight season.

Some saw the deal as an overpay at the time, but in the years since, he's gelled into a key piece of their top-six.

Related: Islanders Kyle Palmieri Shining Under Patrick Roy; Leads NHL In Two Categories

Since the contract, Palmieri has 61 goals and 59 assists for 120 points in 206 games.

He missed time due to injuries the first two seasons, but he was a revelation for the team this season, reaching the 30-goal mark for the first time since 2014-15 and playing in all 82 games for just the second time in his 14-year career.

Next is the Cizikas deal, which was an interesting one at the time.

Given the flat salary cap during the league's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, some teams were handing out longer-term deals to lower the average cap hits on contracts.

Cizikas was another of those deals, but he also stated his commitment to the team for the long haul.

After signing the deal, he said, "Long Island is my home and will always be my home. There was nowhere else I wanted to be. I want to retire an Islander. That’s my goal and something I’ll be real proud of when that day comes." He also infamously added, "I'm going to die an Islander."

Related: New Cizikas Line Flying Under The Radar, Why Trio Could Be Effective For Islanders

What makes his statement stronger is his contributions as a whole.

His offensive output doesn't light the world on fire, owning 107 goals and 138 assists for 245 points in 815 games, but he's been a sturdy presence for their bottom six.

Making up the famous "E=MC^2" line with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck, that trend has largely remained.

Since signing the deal, he's tallied 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points while maintaining his role, even jumping on the wing at times.

Martin and Clutterbuck's futures with the Islanders are uncertain—both remain unrestricted free agents — leaving him the last man standing, but his experience will serve him and his future linemates well moving forward.

Cizikas is one of the only NHL veterans on the roster with no trade protection.

After Cizikas is Sorokin's contract, which was largely seen as a bridge deal.

After a solid first season in the NHL, he signed on for three seasons where he continued his development into one of the league's top goalies.

Across the first two seasons of the contract, he went 57-40-15 with a 2.37 GAA and .924 SV%. He also earned an All-Star nomination and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in 2022-23.

Following the campaign, Sorokin and the Islanders agreed to an eight-year contract worth $66 million overall, an $8.25 million cap hit.

With the netminder committed to the deal for the long haul, the final year of his first extension unfortunately didn't go as planned.

His 25-19-12 record, .908 SV%, and 3.01 GAA were subpar for his standards, leading to Semyon Varlamov reclaiming the starter's role for important stretches — the end of the regular season and the first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Given his efforts in the first two years of the deal, the expectation is he will recover from a down season. However, for the Islanders' sake, he will have to give the money he's being paid as of today.

The last of those deals belonged to Beauviller, who traveled extensively during the contract.

The Islanders paid Beauvillier with the hope that he would continue to develop in the team's middle six, but unfortunately, this didn't happen.

In 124 games after the deal was signed, he totaled 21 goals and 33 assists for 54 points, which led to him being involved in the Bo Horvat blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks.

Related: With Beauvillier on the Move Again, We Revisit Islanders Horvat Trade

Beauvilier finished the year decently with the Canucks, tallying nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points, but the following season didn't go as planned.

The forward played for three teams in 2023-24, getting traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in November and the Nashville Predators in March. He has since signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With the 2024-25 season just over a month away, the retrospective on these deals is fascinating.

Given the nature of evaluating contracts moments after signing, the players involved have given the Islanders some decent value for their lifespans.

Especially with Palmieri's deal expiring next summer and Sorokin's new deal beginning, it's clear to evaluate their impact three years later.

After the Beauvillier-Horvat deal and Cizikas having three years left on the contract, those final impressions still have time to play out.

However, those impacts can all be traced back to that fateful day in 2021.

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