Kyle Palmieri appears to be right on track for a return when Islanders training camp opens later this month.
New York GM Mathieu Darche told Stefen Rosner of NHL.com that Palmieri “looks great, fully healthy.” That’s a notable update after Palmieri tore his right ACL on Nov. 28 in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, an injury that wiped out most of his 2025-26 season.
Palmieri had been hoping to be ready for camp, and now it looks like that goal is within reach. Before the injury, the 35-year-old was producing at a strong clip, piling up 18 points in 25 games. Over an 84-game pace, that works out to 20 goals and 60 points.
That kind of scoring isn’t far off what he’s delivered since arriving on Long Island. Since joining the Islanders in 2020-21, Palmieri has recorded 93 goals and 190 points in 330 games, which translates to a 24-goal, 48-point pace over 84 games.
Even as he’s moved deeper into his thirties, Palmieri hasn’t looked like a player in decline. Over the last two seasons, he’s averaged 18:36 of ice time per game, a jump from his 15:37 per game in his first year with the Islanders and well above his 16:20 career average.
He’s also taken on a more important role on the penalty kill. In 2023-24, he averaged just 0:35 per game shorthanded. Now, that number is up to nearly two minutes a night.
There are still some questions around how the Islanders’ late coaching change might affect him. Palmieri played some of the best all-around hockey of his career under Patrick Roy, and it’s possible he won’t have the same level of success under DeBoer. But there’s also a path to a strong rebound if he can move past the injury and find another gear under a coach who is widely regarded as one of the league’s finest.
The timing matters for another reason, too. Palmieri’s two-year, $4.75MM AAV contract extension, signed in May of last year, is set to expire next summer.
He’ll be a pending UFA, and with prices rising around the league, a new deal - almost certainly on a one-year term - could bring a raise. Still, he’ll be 36 when he reaches free agency, and if 2026-27 goes poorly, that ACL tear will hang over his market.
For Palmieri, the next step is simple: earn a spot on one of New York’s scoring lines in camp and show that the knee injury ended his 2025-26 season, not his value as a two-way top-six winger.
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For Islanders fans, the frustration is not just about one move, but about the broader question of roster management. The two trades point in opposite directions on age, cap flexibility and future value, and the comparison only makes Lou Lamoriellos approach look more cautious by the day. New Jersey appears willing to keep chasing a younger, longer runway, while the Islanders are left trying to justify a present-tense push that already feels harder to balance. [Read more 🡒]