Maxim Shabanov’s time with the Islanders never really got off the ground, even though it began with plenty of buzz.
New York brought in the 25-year-old Russian forward in the summer of 2025 on a one-year deal, and there was real belief he could grow into a top-six weapon with the kind of skill that jumps off the ice. Instead, a crowded forward group, a midseason injury, and a shrinking role slowly pushed him to the margins.
Shabanov opened his NHL career in style. He scored in his debut, which also happened to be the Islanders’ first game of the season, and appeared in each of the first six games, picking up three points. Then came the injury that knocked him out for 12 straight games.
When he returned, there was one bright flash that looked like it might change the story. In his third game back, Shabanov exploded for two goals and three points in a 5-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, logging more than 14 minutes. Over the next 17 straight games after the injury, he added two goals and seven points overall, including that Detroit performance.
But the momentum never held. His ice time bounced around, his linemates changed, and he never found a steady rhythm.
As the Islanders slipped in January, Shabanov’s production disappeared too. He went eight games without a point, finished that stretch at minus-3, and the team went 3-4-1.
He was scratched once in the middle of that run and then again afterward.
Not long after Shabanov was scratched for a third time, general manager Mathieu Darche brought in Ondrej Palat, who effectively took the spot of Maxim Tsyplakov, the forward who had spent the season as the Islanders’ 13th or 14th man. Palat became a regular. Shabanov did not.
The Islanders added another forward later at the NHL Trade Deadline, acquiring Brayden Schenn and making an already crowded group even tighter.
By the time Palat arrived in late January, Shabanov had played 38 of the team’s first 52 games, missing 12 because of injury and sitting twice as a healthy scratch. From there, the usage dried up fast. In the Islanders’ final 30 games, he appeared in just six, scoring once and adding two assists.
After the season, Ilya Sorokin said in an interview that Shabanov needed more positivity and to work more to earn his place, and that comment fit the arc of the year. In the end, the Islanders chose not to tender him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent and closing the book on his Long Island stint.
The Minnesota Wild moved quickly and signed him to a one-year deal.
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