With the NHL draft looming Sunday, there is even less certainty concerning the Islanders’ goaltending situation now than there was when their season ended after a six-game, first-round series loss to the Penguins.
First is the fact talks between unrestricted free agent Evgeni Nabokov and the team have come to a complete standstill, The Post has learned. The veteran netminder for the past two seasons is going to test the free agent market on July 5, despite the fact the team and Nabokov’s agent had agreed to the terms of a one-year deal. Yet the money for the goalie who will be 38 years old when the season starts, was so far off they could not close the gap.
Next is that a league source said the Islanders are not one of the many teams pining for Canucks goalie Robert Luongo, who has been at the center of trade and amnesty buyout rumors the entire offseason. Luongo, 34, started his career with the Islanders, who drafted him fourth overall in 1997, and carries with him a $5.33 million salary-cap hit through the 2021-22 season.
Then, as always, lies the albatross of Rick DiPietro. The oft-injured netminder finished last season in the AHL and was not with the team as it made its first appearance in the postseason in five years. With eight years left on his contract, each carrying a cap hit of $4.5 million, DiPietro is a prime candidate for the team’s first amnesty buyout. That time period started yesterday at 11 p.m., and will conclude on July 4, the day before free agency opens.
As of yesterday afternoon, a team source said there had been no decision made about DiPietro’s future, or the future of any other possible buyouts.
Other possible trade options include the Sabres’ Ryan Miller and the Blues’ Jaroslav Halak. What it would take to get either of them in a swap would likely include prospects, of which the Islanders have few they are willing to part with. Unrestricted free agent targets include the Coyotes’ Mike Smith and Bruins backup Anton Khudobin.