New York Islanders Want To Re-Sign 3 Of Their UFAs

It doesn't seem like Lou Lamoriello wants to make too many changes to the New York Islanders' roster throughout the summer as they reportedly want the team's three biggest unrestricted free agents back. According to Kevin Kurz, the Islanders want to re-sign Pierre Engvall, Scott Mayfield, and Semyon Varlamov, but it will come at a larger price than they were paying these players this season.

Varlamov's decision will likely come down to the offers he gets in free agency and I expect him to at least test the market. His numbers suggest that he can at least still split the net with another goalie, not serve as the permanent backup to Ilya Sorokin for another season or more. The 35-year-old is reliable as they come, posting no worse than a .915 save percentage on each of the three teams he's played for over the course of his career. Despite starting just 54 games over the past two seasons, I'm sure teams will be looking at giving him a higher payday than the Islanders to stick around as the backup.

Engvall was one of the moves Lamoriello made at the trade deadline and got his money's worth with the former Toronto Maple Leaf. He played a solid middle-sic role and was more effective in New York than he was on the Maple Leafs this season. It might cost a bit more than $2.25 million to keep him around, but re-signing him wouldn't waste an asset the Islanders traded for him.

Mayfield is going to get a good amount of attention in free agency if he makes it there and it's also intriguing that the Islanders would want to keep him at what will be a much higher cost to take time away from a couple of deserving young defensemen trying to break into the lineup. Yes, the team sees their window open right now and want to win, but with how good their defense and goaltending already is, getting scoring should be the number one concern. Mayfield is going to get 2.5-3 times more money per year on his next contract and re-signing him would keep Samuel Bolduc and Robin Salo out of the lineup again, potentially leading to a trade.