Islanders sign Ethan Bear to one-year contract extension
The New York Islanders have agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract extension with defenseman Ethan Bear, the club announced Monday morning.
Bear, 28, spent the entirety of the 2025-26 season with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, collecting four goals and 27 points in 40 games. The 5’11” right-shot defender also skated in two games with the club in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Islanders originally signed Bear to a one-year contract as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2025. The Regina, Sask. product will most likely report to the newly relocated Hamilton Hammers for the 2026-27 AHL season.
#Isles Transaction: The New York Islanders announced today that the club has signed defenseman Ethan Bear to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract. Learn more: bit.ly/4uCQ7cO
A fifth-round pick (No. 124 overall) of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft, Bear spent his junior career with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds before turning pro in the Oilers organization in 2017. He spent the first three seasons of his NHL career with the Oilers before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021 in exchange for winger Warren Foegele.
Bear followed up his tenure in Edmonton with one-year stints with the Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, and Washington Capitals. He then spent the entirety of the 2024-25 season with the Hershey Bears, being named an AHL All-Star, before signing with the Islanders.
Through 275 career NHL games over parts of six seasons with Edmonton, Carolina, Vancouver, and Washington, Bear has collected 17 goals, 67 points, and 112 penalty minutes. He’s also appeared in eight career playoff contests, all with Edmonton in 2020 and 2021.
Bear had been slated to become an unrestricted free agent once again this summer. With him now signed, the Islanders still have 11 UFAs left to deal with in the offseason, according to PuckPedia: Anders Lee, Carson Soucy, Tony DeAngelo, Adam Boqvist, David Rittich, Matthew Highmore, Matt Luff, Adam Beckman, Cole McWard, Travis Mitchell, and Marcus Hogberg.