Kyle Palmieri Injury Appears More Significant Than Expected

Not only is the injury to Kyle Palmieri more significant than first thought, but it appears that the New York Islanders may not have their veteran right winger when the season kicks off in a couple of weeks. 

Lane Lambert: “Hard to say” whether Kyle Palmieri will be ready for the start of the regular season.

Also said Isaiah George had a maintenance day.

— Ethan Sears (@ethan_sears) September 27, 2023

Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said, “It’s hard to say,” about whether the top-six forward would be ready for the opener. “I don’t know that I could answer that question today. He’s skating. And so he’s day-to-day right now and we’ll just wait to see what happens.”

Overall, Palmieri's status is a bit of a mystery, as the Isles continue to cloak his true status in secrecy. In fact, they won't even confirm if it's an upper-body or lower-body injury. They had been referring to his absence from preseason games as "maintenance" earlier in camp, but that's clearly not the case at this point.

And the "day-to-day" status that Lambert cites doesn't mean a whole lot with the Isles, as they constantly used that refrain last season when referring to players who were actually out for weeks at a time, as noted by Ethan Sears of the New York Post. 

Palmieri has had a rough go of it since coming to Long Island in the 2020-21 season. He missed 27 games last year due to suspected concussions. 

Whether this latest mystery unfolds before Opening Night remains to be seen. 

Palmieri potted 16 goals and 33 points in 55 games for the Islanders last season, and his offense is sorely needed. 

Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports