The Islanders don’t need a miracle to stay in the playoff conversation in 2026-27, but they do need Ilya Sorokin to keep doing Ilya Sorokin things - and maybe even do more of them.
That’s the cleanest path forward for a team still being viewed as a fringe wild-card contender after last season’s surprise push. The expectations around the roster are modest again, and if the Islanders are going to beat that projection, they’ll need at least one player to deliver a true career-level season. Sorokin is the obvious candidate.
He’s already spent the last few years as one of the biggest reasons the Islanders have been able to hang around. A top-five goaltender in the league, Sorokin has the kind of game that can cover up a lot of flaws in front of him. And with questions still lingering around the forward group - including who ends up as the second-line center - the Islanders may need their goalie to carry an even heavier load than usual.
Last season, Sorokin backed that up with another strong campaign. In 55 games, he posted a 2.68 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage, and he led the league with seven shutouts.
That performance also landed him second in Vezina Trophy voting. It wasn’t flawless - he had a few rough outings - but the good clearly outweighed the bad, and he looked much more like the goalie the Islanders have come to rely on.
There’s also a clear blueprint for what happens when Sorokin plays more. His high-water mark is 62 games, set in 2023-24, when he turned in a 2.34 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. The Islanders went 31-22-7 when Sorokin started that season and finished fourth, good enough to grab a wild card spot.
That’s why workload matters here. If the Islanders are going to squeeze more out of this roster, they need Sorokin in net as often as possible.
With youth sprinkled through the lineup and the offense likely to be uneven, he can be the steady force that keeps games within reach. If the attack only gives him one or two goals, he’s still good enough to handle the rest.
If the Islanders want to make real noise in 2026-27 and build on last season’s run, Sorokin has to be the anchor. He’s the franchise cornerstone, and the season may hinge on how often he can prove it.
In Other News...
Islanders Just Gave A Familiar Roy Voice An Important New Role
The Islanders have brought Benoit Desrosiers back into the fold in a different capacity, hiring the former assistant coach as a pro scout to help strengthen the organizations scouting department. Desrosiers had been working under Patrick Roy with a specific focus on the clubs face-off unit, a detail that mattered because puck possession off the draw has been one of the cleaner parts of the teams game during his time on staff.
His transition comes after a late-season change on the bench, when he was relieved of his coaching duties and replaced by Rocky Thompson. For the Islanders, the move keeps a familiar Roy voice in the organization while shifting Desrosiers into a role that will ask him to evaluate players from a wider lens, an adjustment that could end up being just as important behind the scenes as his coaching work was on the ice. [Read more 🡒]
Scott Mayfield Is Becoming An Islanders Blue Line Dilemma
Scott Mayfield was part of the mix in the Islanders 4-2 win over the Rangers, but the conversation around him feels different now than it did earlier in his career. Entering his 13th NHL season, he still brings the physical edge and penalty-killing work that have long made him useful, yet there are more moments where his declining speed and slower decision-making show up in plain view. For a team that still values what he can provide, that has created a familiar kind of balancing act.
The Islanders also have younger defense options starting to press for attention, which makes Mayfields spot feel less settled than it once did. If Isaiah George and Kashawn Aitcheson keep pushing for bigger roles, the blue line picture only gets tighter from here, especially with Mayfields contract still carrying significant term ahead of it. For now, he remains a part of the defense rotation, but the direction of the conversation has clearly shifted. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Face A Center Problem That Could Define Their Season
The Islanders have found themselves in a familiar sort of roster puzzle, only this one goes straight to the middle of the ice. Bo Horvat is set as the top center, and the rest of the depth chart is crowded with names that can help in different ways but do not all fit neatly into the same role. Mat Barzal, J-G Pageau, Brayden Schenn and Casey Cizikas each bring something distinct, while Cal Ritchie represents the younger end of the conversation as the team sorts through who belongs where.
What makes the situation tricky is that the Islanders have more than enough candidates to fill center spots, yet still not enough ideal answers to make the position feel settled. Recent trades and contract decisions have only added to the complexity, shaping a group that looks versatile on paper but unresolved in practice. For a team trying to define its identity and stay competitive, how the center mix shakes out could end up being one of the seasons biggest quiet storylines. [Read more 🡒]