Free agency is now a little less than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the New York Islanders.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Oliver Wahlstrom – Only known to the public as a lower-body injury, the injury sustained by Wahlstrom on December 29th against the Columbus Blue Jackets would keep him out for the rest of the regular season. Before then, Wahlstrom was on pace for the best offensive season of his career, scoring seven goals and nine assists in 35 games. Failing to average over 13 minutes of ice time a night in his first couple of seasons with the Islanders, Wahlstrom has yet to put up the numbers relative to his draft selection at 11th overall in 2018.
There is no question that Wahlstrom still holds plenty of talent as a younger player in the NHL, but may need to add some more defensive prowess to his game to fully succeed with the Islanders. Arguably already having a complete top-six after the acquisition of Bo Horvat, Wahlstrom is surely poised for third-line minutes next year, while possibly garnering some minutes on New York’s second powerplay unit.
In Wahlstrom’s favor, being only 22 years old, he is one of the youngest players on the Islanders’ roster, including Bolduc and Simon Holmstrom, giving New York ample enough time to mold him into the player they need him to be. As Josh Bailey seems to be ending his tenure with the Islanders in the near future, Wahlstrom may have access to more playing time if he stays healthy.
Other RFAs: D Samuel Bolduc, F Collin Adams, F Blade Jenkins, D Bode Wilde, G Jakub Skarek
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Zach Parise – At already 37 years old when he first signed with the Islanders, there were not very high expectations for Parise heading into the 2021-22 season. Nevertheless, in just over 15 minutes of ice time a game, Parise scored 15 goals and 20 assists, finishing seventh on the Islanders in scoring.
This year, at age 38, Parise impressed even further, finishing the season with 21 goals and 13 assists, finishing third on the Islanders in goal-scoring. Far from the player he was after finishing fifth in the race for Hart Memorial Trophy in 2009, being able to score 20 goals in the NHL is no small feat.
In early April, it was reported that Parise was planning on playing in the NHL next year, and it will most likely be in New York once again. However, if he is able to keep up his impressive depth scoring, Parise might have interest from other teams this offseason that are closer to contending for the Stanley Cup. 
D Scott Mayfield – One of the more unheralded defensemen on the Islanders, Mayfield has quietly had an impressive career in New York. Not receiving the same amount of name recognition as Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, or Noah Dobson, Mayfield has become one of the better two-way defensemen on the roster.
In 82 games this season, Mayfield scored six goals and 18 assists, earning 168 blocked shots and 107 hits in the process. Averaging over 21 minutes a night, Mayfield also sat second on the Islanders in Defensive Point Shares at 4.5, 0.1 behind Pulock for the team lead.
F Pierre Engvall – Acquired at the trade deadline in order for the Toronto Maple Leafs to have cap space for other moves, Engvall became a solid addition to New York’s bottom six. In 18 games wearing the orange and blue, Engvall scored five goals and four assists. His possession rates were also above average, earning a Corsi For % of 57.5 for the Islanders this season.
Other UFAs: D Parker Wotherspoon, G Semyon Varlamov, F Cole Bardreau, F Jeff Kubiak, F Richard Panik, G Cory Schneider
Projected Cap Space
Headed into the offseason, the Islanders will have about $5.33 in cap space, more than enough to bring Parise and Mayfield back into the mix. With the addition of Horvat, New York does not have any pressing needs besides finding a backup goaltender, unless Varlamov is interested in taking a substantial pay cut.
Due to the injury and subpar performance from Wahlstrom over the last four seasons, the team should also have no problem retaining him as well. Also, if the Islanders take the buyout option with Bailey, the team will free up around $2.3MM in 2023-24, giving them a bit more financial flexibility.
If New York is to remain healthy, there should not be many holes to plug in this roster. With Horvat, Pelech, Pulock, and Mathew Barzal all signed to long-term extensions, the only other extension the team will need to worry about is goaltender Ilya Sorokin in the near future.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
The team clearly has to get younger to make a run in the playoffs.