Highmore has quietly been an effective depth player in his career and will hope to continue that trend on a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders. The undrafted 29-year-old has 35 points (14G / 21A) in 187 career games. He scored six points (2G / 4A) in 41 games with the Ottawa Senators last season.
Holmstrom had a breakout 2024-25 season, scoring 45 points (20G / 25A) in 75 games, earning himself a two-year contract extension with the Islanders worth $3.625 million. The 24-year-old produced at an extremely impressive rate to end the season, with 22 points (10G / 12A) in 30 games from late January to early April.
After falling out of favour with the Montreal Canadiens, Drouin took an opportunity with the Colorado Avalanche to rediscover his scoring prowess alongside Nathan MacKinnon and did just that. In 122 games with Colorado over the previous two seasons, Drouin scored an impressive 93 points (30G / 63A) after playing on back-to-back team-friendly one-year deals with the team. He joins the New York Islanders on a two-year $8 million contract.
Bear will join his fourth organization in five seasons after signing a one-year deal worth $775,000 with the Islanders on Tuesday. The 28-year-old defenceman last appeared in the NHL in 2023-24 after spending last season in Hershey (AHL) where he had 10 goals and 46 points in 62 games played. He is expected to compete for one of the Islanders' final roster spots in training camp.
After two successful seasons backing up in Los Angeles, David Rittich will join his sixth NHL team after signing a one-year contract with the Islanders on Tuesday. The 32-year-old appeared in his most games (34) since 2019-20 last season, but struggled mightily as shown by his .886 SV% and 2.84 GAA. He is expected to provide goaltending depth if Semyon Varlamov is unable to go to start the season.
After a successful return from the KHL mid-season in 2024-25, Tony DeAngelo has earned himself a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Islanders ahead of the 2025-26 season. The 29-year-old will likely take on a bigger role this season after Noah Dobson was moved out of town last week and is expected to occupy the top powerplay in his absence. Across 35 games in 2024-25, he had four goals, 19 points and a -11 plus/minus.
Romanov missed portions of the 2024-25 season due to injuries, limited to only 64 games, but has signed a massive eight-year contract worth $6.25 million AAV. The hard-hitting 25-year-old defenseman has 64 points (13G / 51A), 465 blocks, and 502 hits in 221 career games with the New York Islanders.
After appearing in just one game for the Islanders in 2024-25, Julien Gauthier has earned himself a one-year, two-way contract extension to remain in Long Island. The 27-year-old right-winger will provide some offensive depth after putting up three goals and eight points in nine games with Bridgeport (AHL) last season.
Former 18th overall pick Liam Foudy has been signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension to provide New York with some offensive depth for the upcoming 2025-26 season. The 25-year-old appeared in two games for the Islanders in 2024-25 but failed to pick up a point, instead spending the majority of his season with Bridgeport (AHL), where he had 20 goals and 45 points.
Heineman is no stranger to being included in big trades, he was traded to Calgary as a part of the Sam Bennett trade, then traded to Montreal as a part of the Tyler Toffoli trade, and now to the Islanders for Noah Dobson. The 6-foot-2, 198 lbs winger was a full-time NHLer in 2024-25, and finished with 18 points (10G / 8A), 64 SOG and 173 hits in 62 games while playing just 11:24 TOI/gm. He'll likely fill a similar bottom-6 role with the Islanders.
New York announced on Tuesday that 16-year-veteran Matt Martin would be retiring from professional hockey. The 36-year-old Windsor native ends his time in the NHL just 13 games short of the 1000 GP mark alongside his 81 goals, 178 points and 1168 PIMs in 987 games played. Martin will remain with the Islanders' organization as he will step into the role of Special Assistant to the General Manager immediately.
Boqvist was acquired off waivers by Long Island in 2024-25 and has signed a one-year, $850,000 contract extension to remain with the Islanders for at least one more season. The 24-year-old mobile defenseman was once the 2018 8th overall pick but has struggled to find his footing, even playing forward at times for the Islanders last season. In 35 games combined between Florida and New York, he had four goals and 14 points while producing a -9 plus/minus.
After five successful seasons on Long Island, Kyle Palmieri has committed to two more after signing a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension ($4,750,000 AAV). The 34-year-old continued to play a crucial top-six role in 2024-25, picking up 24 goals, 48 points and 169 SOG in 82 games played. He is only 100 games away from reaching the illustrious 1000 games played mark.
Horvat suffered the injury at the World Championships, cutting his tournament short, but will be ready for training camp in September.
Clutterbuck did not play in the 2024-25 season and has announced his retirement, ending his career with 293 points (143G / 150A) in 1064 games. The 37-year-old was drafted 72nd overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, going on to play 17 NHL seasons, splitting time with Minnesota and the New York Islanders.
The Senators will opt for experience in Game 2 on Tuesday, with Nick Cousins replacing Matthew Highmore. The 29-year-old Highmore played 9:10 time-on-ice ice, recording a -1 plus/minus and four penalty minutes in Ottawa's Game 1 loss.
Highmore was a healthy scratch for the Senators' season finale but is expected to replace Nick Cousins on the Senators' fourth line on Saturday. HIghmore had just six points (2G / 4A) in 41 games this season, but was used frequently on the penalty kill (1:22 SH TOI/gm).
The Kings will give Darcy Kuemper the night off on Thursday, handing Rittich the start for their regular season finale. Rittich picked up the victory on Tuesday, allowing five goals on 34 shots in a 6-5 win in Seattle. The 32-year-old netminder owns a 16-13-2 record and an .888 SV% on the season. The Kings enter action on Thursday at -175 on the money line.
