The Islanders’ backup goalie picture may end up steering more of their preseason roster math than almost anything else.
Ilya Sorokin is the centerpiece, the Vezina Trophy runner-up who is expected to start about 55 games in the 84-game season and keep New York in the playoff mix. But behind him, the situation is less settled than it looks on paper.
The plan, and the hope, is that Semyon Varlamov can reclaim the job after two partial knee replacement surgeries have kept him out of an NHL game since Nov. 29, 2024.
That comeback would be remarkable under any circumstances. At 38, and with those surgeries in his background, it borders on unprecedented.
That uncertainty is exactly why general manager Mathieu Darche brought in Vitek Vanecek on a one-year, $1 million deal as insurance. The 30-year-old has played 210 NHL games for the Capitals, Devils, Sharks, Panthers and Mammoth, but how much he matters in the Islanders’ season will be dictated by Varlamov’s status.
Vanecek got his first look in the preseason opener Sunday afternoon at the Prudential Center, stopping 21 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Devils. With Sorokin and Varlamov likely to split the final three preseason games, that may be Vanecek’s only chance to show what he can do in exhibition play.
“The camp is short so you have to work really hard in the practice and make it the best in the short term,” Vanecek said.
Asked about competing with Varlamov for the role, he kept it simple.
“I’m not thinking about it too much,” Vanecek said. “I’m just doing my best and we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
For now, the Islanders are not expected to carry three goalies unless they absolutely have to. If Varlamov is ready, Vanecek would need to clear waivers to be sent to the team’s AHL affiliate in Hamilton, Ontario.
There is an obvious upside to keeping all three. It would give Darche an easy out and protect him from the second-guessing that would follow if another team claimed Vanecek and Varlamov could not handle the roughly 30 games the Islanders need from their backup. But that approach comes with a roster cost, and the Islanders have several young players making noise elsewhere.
Former first-rounders Victor Eklund and Cole Eiserman are pressing for spots up front, and Eiserman opened the scoring early in the second period with a power-play one-timer. On defense, Isaiah George and former first-rounder Kashawn Aitcheson are also in the mix. Not everyone can fit, which is why Darche needs flexibility to go 14 forwards and seven defensemen or 13 forwards and eight defensemen.
“It’s been discussed,” coach Pete DeBoer said of the three-goalie possibility. “And it does handcuff you.
That’s all going to depend on how Varly’s doing and how he’s doing. I don’t think, in talking with Mathieu, that we want to go there.
But it’s on the table if we have to.”
Compared with last season, the Islanders are in a much better spot in terms of goalie depth. Varlamov’s availability gives them a potential answer, and Vanecek gives them a fallback.
Last year, David Rittich backed up Sorokin while Marcus Hogberg served as the third goalie in the AHL, and the arrangement eventually helped sink Patrick Roy’s season. Rittich’s play dropped off in the middle of the year, Sorokin was leaned on too heavily, and the wear showed as the Islanders faded from the playoff race and missed the postseason for a second straight year.
That context is why the backup job matters so much. Sorokin has shown he needs a night off every four or five games, which makes the No. 2 goalie nearly as important as the starter.
Vanecek’s numbers last season with Utah - 5-13-3, a 2.93 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage - were not as strong as Rittich’s 14-10-3 record, 2.76 GAA and .894 save percentage. But Vanecek was also Sergei Bobrovsky’s playoff understudy as the Panthers won the Stanley Cup in 2025.
He had to know signing with the Islanders did not guarantee him a roster spot. Darche made it clear at the end of last season that the team believed Varlamov could be this year’s backup. Even so, Vanecek chose Long Island.
“I think it’s a good organization,” Vanecek said when asked why he signed. “It’s a good team.
They have a chance to win the Cup and it’s in the East. So that’s why.”
Sorokin remains the engine of whatever ceiling the Islanders have. But the path to that ceiling may run through Varlamov’s health - and, if it doesn’t, through Vanecek’s readiness.
In Other News...
Pete DeBoer Is Pushing An Islanders Identity Change That Had To Happen
Pete DeBoers first full season behind the Islanders bench is shaping up as a course correction built on clarity. After a season in which the defensive end needed to look a lot cleaner, the message has been simple so far: keep the game organized, make the reads easier and lean into the kind of structure that lets players know exactly what is expected of them. Bo Horvat and Brayden Schenn have both noted how straightforward DeBoer has been, which matters for a team trying to establish a new standard rather than just patch over old problems.
The bigger challenge is making that identity show up everywhere else on the ice, not just in the defensive zone. The Islanders are also looking to rework their breakouts, improve how they handle the neutral zone and get more out of the power play, all while trying to make the team harder to play against in the areas that decide games. For a roster that needs its details sharpened, the change is less about flash than about habits, and that is exactly why it feels overdue. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Camp Opens With One Big Question About Key Veterans
The Islanders opened 2026-27 training camp with a familiar mix of optimism and uncertainty, as several key veterans showed up in various stages of recovery. Semyon Varlamov is back on the ice after a lengthy rehab, Alex Romanov is said to be in strong shape, and Pierre Engvall has returned after hip and ankle procedures, giving the club a better sense of its depth as the preseason opener against the New Jersey Devils approaches.
Mathew Barzal is the name that hangs over the first few days of camp, even as the Islanders take a cautious approach with his latest injury issue. The team is treating the situation carefully, which leaves his immediate availability for the opener very much up in the air, and it adds another layer of intrigue to a camp that already feels like a test of how quickly this group can get healthy and settled. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Prospects Suddenly Have A Real Opening Night Opportunity
Training camp is giving the Devils a real chance to sort through a few young players before the roster gets locked in for opening night, and three prospects have quickly become names to watch. Amadeus Lombardi, Anton Silaev and Nico Daws are all in the mix as New Jersey works through its final decisions, with the preseason set to open Sept. 20 against the Islanders.
For New York, it is another early reminder that the teams around it are already treating these exhibition games like auditions with consequences. The Devils still have some sorting to do, but the camp chatter has made clear that this is not just about filling out the preseason lineup, and one of the more interesting roster battles is unfolding in goal, where Daws could force his way into a much bigger role if the opportunity stays open. [Read more 🡒]