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NHL News Ilya Sorokin Underwent Back Surgery, but Not Expected to Miss Time
Islanders Head coach Patrick Roy made NHL News by telling reporters this past Monday that Ilya Sorokin underwent back surgery, though he already returned to the ice to be a full participant shortly after training camp began. General manager Lou Lamoriello added that Sorokin sustained an undisclosed injury in the offseason that led to the surgery, though it can be inferred to as a back injury.
It’s not the way the Islanders envisioned him starting his eight-year, $66 million extension, but if the injury was bothering him all season, perhaps that may offer an explanation to why he was having a down year in 2024, where he registered a 3.01 GAA and a .908 save percentage, losing him the starting job to Semyon Varlamov come playoff time.
He still has a .919 save percentage in 192 career NHL games, so there’s no question that he’s one of the best goaltenders in the NHL entering this season. In the two seasons before last year, he posted a 2.37 GAA and a .924 save percentage with 13 shutouts in 114 games, finishing as the runner-up to Linus Ullmark in the Vezina Trophy voting in 2023.
Varlamov is also at the Islanders’ disposal in the case Sorokin continues to struggle or if he is not fully recovered from the injury or surgery. With how Sorokin has played, Varlamov has been limited to less than 30 starts in each of the last three seasons, though he’s been great in the games he’s played. Last season, he put up a 2.60 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 28 games.
NHL News Sabres Sign Peyton Krebs to Two-Year Deal
Heading to Buffalo for our next piece of NHL News…The Sabres signed Peyton Krebs to a two-year, $2.9 million contract. The deal will keep the 23-year-old under contract through the 2026 season, and will cost $1.45 million against the salary cap for both seasons.
When first arriving to Buffalo in the Jack Eichel trade, it looked like he won’t have trouble being a key piece to the Sabres as a middle-six winger, with 22 points in 48 games after the trade, averaging 14:45 of ice time. After that, he got moved to his natural position at center in the last two seasons. With that, however, his offensive output decreased, and last season was hard for him, where he had four goals and 17 points in 80 games, his worst output as a Sabre, and he also received his lowest usage at 12:30 of ice time per game.
He’s also not the best faceoff man on the dot, winning 44.5% of his faceoffs in his career. Though he also has positive shot attempt impacts at even strength ever since he was moved to center, where his 47.8% share of expected goals is alright for a team that is on the rebuild. But there’s not really a clear fit for him on the lineup at first glance after Buffalo’s bevy of free agent moves, and he doesn’t have the track record on the attack to unseat one of the top forwards, so he will have to move either one of fourth liners Sam Lafferty, Beck Malenstyn, or Nicolas Aubé-Kubel out of the lineup for a shot.
On paper, it appears that Krebs will be up against Lafferty for the fourth line center spot, with the both of them being bad on the faceoff dot in their careers, but even so, given Lafferty’s defensive track record and his hard-nosed style of play, it’s going to be challenging for Krebs to unseat him. Besides, both Malenstyn and Aubé-Kubel were part of an effective fourth line on the Washington Capitals, so it’s also going to be hard to knock either one of them out.
NHL News Arthur Kaliyev and Kings Agree to One-Year Deal
On to Los Angeles for another piece of NHL News. The Kings and Arthur Kaliyev agreed to a one-year contract worth $875,000, very close to his qualifying offer. This contract has no impact on Kaliyev’s trade request, which has been active since at least May, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
It’s a similar situation with Kaliyev is in with Nick Robertson of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who, like Kaliyev, was also an RFA, but signed a one-year, $875,000 deal last week, which gives interested teams some cost certainty with Robertson. Unlike Robertson, however, Kaliyev had a down year in 2024. He was limited to just seven goals and 15 points in 51 games after hitting double digit goal totals in his last two seasons.
There’s still room to grow at age 23. He doesn’t use his 6′ 2″, 209 lbs. frame for his physical advantage and can have lapses defensively, but his even strength possession numbers aren’t of concern for the Kings, in comparison to his teammates. He’s averaged 15 goals and 31 points per 82 games in his career, which is impressive for someone who has averaged just over 12 minutes per game, and doesn’t have a high shooting percentage (8.4%) in his career.
He could land a top-nine role somewhere else, which could lead him to a breakout season, as it’s been relatively quiet for him, both with the Kings lately and on the trade front. However, with him getting a one-year deal, he could find himself on the move in training camp.
NHL News Alex Edler Signs One-Day Contract to Retire with Canucks
Canada contributed to this week’s NHL News as well: The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have signed Alex Edler to a one-day contract so that he can retire as a member of the team he spent the first 15 seasons of his career with. He played 1,030 career NHL games split between the Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings.
Edler was originally a third round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, but has since totaled the 7th-most games of anyone taken from that year’s draft class. As a rookie with Vancouver in 2007, he earned top-pairing minutes with reliable two-way play, modest scoring, and reliable defense. He was a consistent 35-point defender as one of the most utilized defensemen in the Sedin era. His best season with the Canucks came in the 2012 season, the only year when he played all 82 games of the regular season, where he posted 11 goals and 38 assists for 49 points.
He continued playing over 20 minutes a night with the Canucks up until the rise of superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. Edler then chose to sign with the Kings on a pair of one-year contracts, where he would spend the rest of his career with. While his point per game production took a significant hit with age, he did provide valuable playoff experience and a veteran presence to look up on for the younger defensemen on the club.
The Canucks will honor Edler with a pregame ceremony in their October 11th matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. We at Shady Sports Network wish him the best in his retirement as he takes the next step in his journey.
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