The New York Islanders made two notable moves in free agency yesterday, signing Anthony Duclair to a four-year contract, and extending Mike Reilly on a one-year deal. Duclair’s deal carries a $3.5 million cap hit, while Reilly’s contract is worth $1.25 million.
Duclair split this past season between the San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring 24 goals and 42 points in 73 games. Despite starting slow in San Jose, Duclair hit his stride as the year went on, and finished the regular season with eight goals and 15 points in his final 17 games of the season with Tampa Bay.
While Duclair’s production has been a little inconsistent from year-to-year, he’s shown that he can have a high offensive ceiling. He’ll add some speed to the forward group, and should help to create a more talented top-nine. Duclair will be 29 years old in August, and the Islanders are getting a fair price on the contract as well.
Reilly, on the other hand, was claimed off waivers by New York from the Boston Bruins last season, following a series of injuries to the defense group. Upon joining the Islanders, Reilly posted 24 points in 59 games, while averaging around 17 minutes per game. His $1.25 million price tag is also very reasonable - I had projected a one-year deal for Reilly to come in worth $1.5 million, at HockeyComparables.com.
Reilly was a good fit last year, and especially within a defense group that lacks players who can carry the puck up ice, Reilly is a good fit. With the signing, the team has all six of their regular defenders returning next year.
Given the Islanders’ lack of available cap space, their hands were a bit tied in terms of how big they could go in adding to their roster. Still, bringing back Reilly and adding Duclair, they’ve taken a small step forward. The moves aren’t going to move the needle, but they at least set the team up to remain competitive next season.
The signings cap off a busy stretch of days for the Islanders. In addition to adding Cole Eiserman in the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday, the team also made five selections on Day 2, picking: Jesse Pulkkinen (54th OA), Kamil Bednarik (61st OA), Dmitry Gamzin (115th OA), Marcus Gidlof (147th OA) and Xavier Veilleux (179th OA).
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