NHL

Islanders ink Hickey to two-year contract

Thomas Hickey took his opportunity with the Islanders and ran with it all the way to yesterday’s signing of a two-year, $1.35 million contract. The restricted free-agent defenseman will carry a modest annual salary-cap hit of $675,000 on a one-way deal.

The Isles claimed the 24-year-old off waivers on Jan. 15, and he played 39 games for the team last season, adding two games in the team’s six-game first-round playoff loss to the Penguins. Although his play improved over the course of the season, he was still occasionally a healthy scratch down the stretch and in the playoffs.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Hickey was the No. 4-overall pick of the Kings in the 2007 draft, but never found a way up in that organization. He made his NHL debut with the Islanders last season, and finished the regular season with one goal and four points.

Hickey was the final restricted free agent for the Islanders, with general manager Garth Snow having already signed defenseman Travis Hamonic and forward Josh Bailey to long-term deals earlier in the offseason.