After a quiet offseason, the 2026-27 New York Islanders are banking less on fresh faces than on familiar ones finally getting back to themselves.
That’s the theme running through a roster that brought in no notable acquisitions and instead is waiting on a handful of injured players to function as upgrades by default. The club does have Matias Maccelli and Vitek Vanecek in the mix, though calling either one a notable addition would be generous.
There’s also a bigger shift at the top. Anders Lee is gone after age 36, 13-plus seasons, 923 games, and eight years as captain, which tied Denis Potvin for the longest run wearing the “C” in franchise history. So the Islanders enter this season without a captain, but with several returning veterans who are being treated like reinforcements.
Kyle Palmieri is one of them. He’s set to come back from an ACL injury that may have produced the most absurd sequence of the season: he got knocked down, recovered the puck, stole it right back, and then assisted on a goal while limping off to the dressing room.
Still, the reality is harsher than the highlight. Palmieri is about to turn 36, he was never built on pure speed, and Anders Lee needed at least a half-season to shake off a major knee injury even when he was younger.
No one doubts Palmieri’s work or his rehab. The question is whether he can still be a 20-goal scorer in his first year back.
Alex Romanov’s situation is different, but the stakes are just as important. He’s younger, and his injury - a freak collarbone crash after a shove from behind by Mikko Raantanen - shouldn’t have the same long-term mobility concerns.
But he missed all but 15 games last season, and those 15 were rough. He didn’t resemble the sturdy, punishing defenseman who earned that long-term extension.
That’s the real issue for the Islanders in 2026-27. Romanov and Palmieri aren’t stars, but they’re supposed to be reliable middle-of-the-lineup pieces.
If both get back to their pre-injury level, that’s the closest thing this team has to adding new talent. And even then, the 2025-26 Islanders still finished eight points out of a playoff spot.
Those two alone won’t erase that kind of gap.
Then there’s Semyon Varlamov, the third major return from injury, and maybe the most delicate one of all. He’s back after two extensive knee procedures and looked usable in a short Bridgeport rehab stint during the final week of last season. But he’s 38, and for an NHL goalie, knees are not a detail you shrug off.
Mathieu Darche sounded upbeat about all three this week.
On Romanov, whom the Isles would’ve played had they made the playoffs: “He’s 12 pounds lighter. That’s as good as I’ve seen him, the way he’s moving on the ice.”
On Palmieri: “Been skating all summer. He looks great, fully healthy.”
On Varlamov: “Almost a miracle…hopefully he’s ready to give us a lot of games this year.”
Darche also said Pierre Engvall is read y after missing all of last season with hip and ankle injuries. Even at full health, Engvall has been a volatile player, the kind who can look useful one night and completely lost the next. He’s frustrated Patrick Roy before, and it’s hard to imagine him suddenly becoming the sort of player Pete DeBoer would lean on.
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Islanders Suddenly Have A Pierre Engvall Roster Decision To Make
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Engvalls return gives the Islanders another experienced body to sort through as rookies and free-agent additions push for winger spots, and the competition should be especially pointed in the bottom six. Victor Eklund and Cole Eiserman are among the younger players trying to break through, so Engvalls place on the depth chart will be one of the more interesting decisions hanging over camp. [Read more 🡒]
Matthew Schaefer Just Drew A Projection Islanders Fans Can't Ignore
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Now the projection game is getting even louder. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic slotted Schaefer in Tier 1B among NHL defensemen prospects, a sign that his ceiling is viewed as something far beyond the usual top-pair expectation. Wheelers assessment points to a player who could eventually sit at the very top of the position, and for Islanders fans, the only question left is how quickly that kind of future starts to feel real. [Read more 🡒]