New York Islanders: Reaction to every free agency move, including missing out on Panarin

Reaction to losing Lehner, adding Varlamov.

In a relatively surprising twist, the Islanders gave four years to Semyon Varlamov while Robin Lehner settled for another one year deal, but I don’t think these two things correlate.

I for one believe the Islanders wanted a more long-term solution at goal and it didn’t seem like it was Lehner, even before the season started it seemed like the Islanders just thought Lehner was good for the short-term.

Also, what we learned via a conference call with Lou Lamoriello, that Lou has been high on Varlamov for a long time and even tried trading for him last year.

Well, he finally got his goalie. While I still do not think the Islanders are done figuring out the goaltending, we do know this; the Islanders have Varlamov and Thomas Greiss for next season.

But, this move is now being speculated as one to lure in IIlya Sorokin, the undisputed best goalie prospect in the Islanders system.

Varlamov can be a reason why Sorokin finally comes and plays for the blue and orange. The four-year deal is probably just what he costs when looking at the big picture.

As for Lehner, losing him is devastating, but I’m sort of at ease with it. He has a magical season, but it will be hard to duplicate. We know the defensive system is excellent and if they can be just as good and help Varlamov succeeds just as much, so be it.

The Islanders need to prove to themselves that it is their system, along with a player buying into it and executing, that will make their train go. The Islanders don’t need to prove that going out and irrationally spending money and getting as many new faces as possible is the way to go, this is a great middle of both things.

Plus, if this whole thing is a disaster, then after this year the lsles can pursue the Lehner thing again. He said he wanted to stay with the Islanders and will be a free agent again soon.

While I don’t outright think Varlamov is an upgrade over Lehner, I honestly get it.

The Islanders can prove to themselves that they have a system that is easy to thrive in and then use their connection to get the goalie they genuinely want, Sorokin. Even during Lehner’s hot stretches, the question was, “what will the Islanders do if Sorokin comes over?” Now, we know the answer, Lehner was never going to be part of the equation, as crazy as that sounds.

I’ll take what the Islanders did here, but they are just shooting their shot. There is as much of a chance that this move backfires as it does succeed, that is the kind of opportunity you must take, though, after the season they had, especially on defense and in between the pipes.

Reminder, they still have Thomas Greiss.