Islanders re-sign Simon Holmstrom as two restricted free agents remain

The Islanders squeezed the last juice out of their salary cap space on Tuesday, announcing they signed Simon Holmstrom to a one-year deal out of restricted free agency. 

Holmstrom’s salary comes in at $850,000, per PuckPedia, leaving the Islanders with just $50,000 of cap space as they appear to have a complete roster.

With Holmstrom, who will likely compete for a bottom-six role just as last year, the Isles have 13 forwards under contract to go with seven defensemen and two goaltenders — one short of the 23-man limit, but without any immediately apparent means of fitting another player under the cap. 

It is a hair below Holmstrom’s qualifying offer, but unlike the $874,000, two-way deal he could have taken, this is a one-way deal. 

That spells bad news for Oliver Wahlstrom, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck, none of whom looked likely to return even before this. 

Wahlstrom, also a restricted free agent, has an arbitration hearing coming up, but Lou Lamoriello acknowledged at the draft that the Islanders are looking to move him.

Martin and Clutterbuck, both unrestricted free agents, have yet to sign elsewhere, but their pathways back to Long Island appear extremely narrow, at best. 

Holmstrom, a first-round pick back in 2019, is coming off a second NHL season in which he recorded 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists) and carved out a role for himself in the Islanders’ bottom six.

There were stretches of the season in which he was a useful penalty killer and he scored five shorthanded goals, but that tapered off and by the end of the season, the Swede was off the PK. 

A one-year deal for the 23-year-old, which will place him back into restricted free agency next summer, sets Holmstrom up as a potential trade chip as the season goes along, particularly if he can’t win a consistent role in a bottom six where either he, Hudson Fasching, Kyle MacLean, Anders Lee or Maxim Tsyplakov will be the odd man out after training camp. (Fasching, who also enters a contract year, is in a similar position). 

Holmstrom has earned plaudits for his two-way play and defensive responsibility, but the Islanders would like to see him take more steps offensively.

It’s a common refrain that the youngster has an excellent shot, but he’ll need to use it more often. 

In his two years with the club, Holmstrom has played all over the lineup — a testament to his versatility — but it wouldn’t hurt to see him carve out a more consistent role, either.

The bottom six was a black hole of scoring for the Islanders last season, and the shaping of their depth chart this offseason points to a renewed emphasis on putting the puck in the net. 

Holmstrom, now with a one-year contract to prove his worth to Lamoriello and Patrick Roy, ought to take note of that going into the season.