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It’s looking like the Battle of New York will soon get a Russian twist. It seems the Islanders will be getting long-awaited netminder Ilya Sorokin for the start of the 2020-21 season, as he reportedly chose not to re-sign with CSKA of the KHL and plans to sign his entry-level contract with the Islanders once …
It’s looking like the Battle of New York will soon get a Russian twist.
It seems the Islanders will be getting long-awaited netminder Ilya Sorokin for the start of the 2020-21 season, as he reportedly chose not to re-sign with CSKA of the KHL and plans to sign his entry-level contract with the Islanders once his current deal expires April 30. Sorokin will then come to the Big Apple, where friend and current Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin burst onto the scene this season after leaving the KHL.
This is according to a report from Igor Eronko, who covers the KHL for Sport-Express. The Islanders had no immediate response to the news as the NHL remains in a “pause” due to the coronavirus pandemic. But Islanders team president Lou Lamoriello had previously said he expected Sorokin to be here for the 2020-21 season.
Part of that belief likely swayed Lamoriello to sign Semyon Varlamov last offseason to a bloated four-year, $20 million deal. Varlamov, 31, is a fellow Russian who is considered a role model for Sorokin (and Shesterkin), and has had an up-and-down first season with the Islanders.
But with goalie Thomas Greiss in the final year of his contract, there should be ample opportunity for Sorokin if he chooses to come over. It’s possible Lamoriello would sign another veteran to a short-term deal to take some pressure off Sorokin in his first year, much the way Shesterkin started his career with AHL Hartford before taking over as the Blueshirts’ presumptive No. 1 once he was called up in January.
The Islanders can only hope it works out that well, as Shesterkin won 10 of his first 12 NHL starts, with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage, before he fractured his rib in a car accident Feb. 24.
The Islanders took Sorokin in the third round (No. 78 overall) of the 2014 draft, and he was the playoffs MVP while leading his KHL team to the 2019 championship. Set to turn 25 years old on Aug. 4, Sorokin never had worse than a 1.61 goals-against average in a league that has very little competitive balance.
With the resumption of this season uncertain, it seems that the next time the Islanders take the ice, Sorokin could be in their net. The club is set to play all of next season at the Coliseum before moving into their new arena at Belmont Park for the 2021-22 season.
