Islanders Sign Gustafsson To 3 Year Entry Level Contract

Earlier today, the Islanders announced they had signed 2026 1st round pick Malte Gustafsson to his three year entry level contract.  Gustafsson was selected 13th overall by the Islanders in the NHL draft last month.

In post draft interviews, Gustafsson said he plans to go back to Sweden to play next season but could come over after that.  Some have started to speculate that he could potentially follow a similar track to Victor Eklund who came over after his Swedish season ended at the end of the season and is now poised to make the NHL squad this fall.

Some questioned the Islanders pick of Gustafsson because he is another left handed defenseman.  However, at 6'4 and as smooth a skater as he is they don't grow on trees.  I am excited to see him progress this season and see what he can bring to the table in North America.

Islanders Sign Maccelli, Others As Free Agency Opens

On Wednesday, NHL Free Agency opened and the Islanders surprised me with their amount of activity.  The biggest signing of the day for them was of course forward Matias Maccelli who they signed to a 1 year deal worth 2.25 million.

Maccelli, previously with Toronto, had 39 points in 71 games last season.  His career high was a couple seasons ago when he had 57 points (17 goals, 40 assists) with Arizona.  Maccelli is more of a playmaker then a goal scorer and will make some passes that make you say wow how did he see that?  Given some of the crazy contracts thrown around on July 1, getting Maccelli on a 1 year deal seemed like a fine bit of work by Darche to me.

In addition to Maccelli, the Islanders also signed goalie Vitek Vanecek to be insurance for Semyon Varlamov and some depth players including Matthew Kessel and Mitchell Chaffee.