The question surrounding Ilya Sorokin’s status heading into the season was an unknown. He had offseason surgery but at first, it appeared he’d enter the season ready to go. Then it became a day-to-day injury and following back-to-back starts from Semyon Varlamov, it looks like the injury is starting to look more like a week-to-week issue.
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Varlamov can hold down the fort for a few weeks and he’s not the reason the New York Islanders are 0-1-1 to begin the 2024-25 season. Sure, he allowed five goals on 26 shots in the 5-4 opening night loss to the Utah Hockey Club but he only allowed two goals against the Dallas Stars to keep the Islanders in the game. He can allow this team to win a few games but he won’t have them competing in the long run.
Varlamov’s a Backup, Not More Than That
At 36, Varlamov has shown he can still play at a high level. Last season, the Islanders turned to him to will them to the playoffs and he did. The problem is that he can only elevate the team in brief stints not in the long run. The season is 82 games and ideally, Varlamov starts 30 games or within that range.
The Islanders just began a three-game Central Division road trip and they’ll play the Colorado Avalanche followed by the St. Louis Blues. Varlamov can help put together a strong start to give the team their first win of the season but after a few games, age will start to show for the veteran. A drop in production is inevitable unless the Islanders can lighten Varlamov’s workload. It makes a return from Sorokin all the more urgent.
The Islanders have yet to win a game this season and it makes Sorokin’s return all the more urgent. That said, the Islanders can’t rush him back. The first issue that can haunt this team is that Sorokin reaggravates the injury to set him back a few weeks and the other problem that might come up is that he returns but is far from the elite goaltender that the team hopes to see.
Andrei Vasilevskiy dealt with a similar injury a few seasons back. He didn’t look like his dominant self in 2022-23 and struggled for most of the 2023-24 season. Now that he’s had time to recover, he looks like his old self, the version of Vasilevsky that can take over games. Likewise, the Vancouver Canucks star goaltender Thatcher Demko is recovering from an injury and the team is keeping him out of the lineup at all costs. The Canucks would prefer to see a fully healthy and dominant Demko halfway through the season than run the risk of him looking like a shell of himself early on.
The Islanders can keep Sorokin out of the lineup for a few games and even for a few weeks if needed. He’s on the bench and looks ready to play but if he isn’t, the Islanders are best off starting someone else. The problem is that they need an alternative plan instead of starting Varlamov every game.
Islanders Must Plan Around Sorokin’s Absence
The assumption and the hope is that Sorokin will be back in the starting net by the end of the road trip. However, if he doesn’t start the next two games or the first game back at UBS Arena on Oct. 19 against the Montreal Canadiens, the Islanders must find a reliable backup for Varlamov.
The clear choice for the Islanders would be to call up Marcus Hogberg from the American Hockey League (AHL). He has the NHL experience and started the Bridgeport Islanders’ opening night game. Sure, he’s a significant step down from Varlamov but he can give the veteran a much-needed night off.
The Islanders can also look at the waiver wire to add a backup if needed. The Colorado Avalanche claimed Kaapo Kahkonen this week and hope he can start a few games for a team looking to find stability in the net. While the Islanders won’t find a goaltender like Kahkonen per se, they can still find someone who can provide a strong start or two while Sorokin recovers.
Ideally, Sorokin will be back on the ice and the goaltending is a non-issue by the end of the week. That’s wishful thinking at this point. Even if he returns, he’ll be far from the dominant Sorokin the Islanders saw in the 2022-23 season, and considering the team would prefer to play it safe, he’ll likely miss a few games if not a few weeks before returning to the starting net.
It makes finding a reliable backup all the more crucial for the Islanders who can see the season unravel quickly if they don’t win a few games. The Avalanche are 0-2 on the season but have a star-studded roster. The Blues meanwhile didn’t look like they’d be a great team this season but are off to a 2-1 start and playing great across the board. Without stability in the net, the Islanders can lose both games and suddenly be in a hole early on in the season.
