NY Islanders Extend Qualifying Offers to Three Players

A qualifying offer has been made to three New York Islanders players.

Utica's Andre Ghantous battles with Bridgeport's Alex Jefferies at the Adirondack Bank Center on Friday, March 22, 2024. / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Now that the 2026 NHL Draft is complete, the New York Islanders are moving on to the next phase of their offseason schedule.

Their developmental camp roster was announced, and things are underway there. Free agency is set to begin on July 1, as the front office will look for more ways to improve the roster and hopefully make a playoff push next season.

Alas, before free agency started, the Islanders made sure to retain the restricted free agency rights of a few of their players. Overall, three different players who were set to be restricted free agents were extended qualifying offers: forward Alex Jefferies, forward Joey Larson and goaltender Henrik Tikkanen.

Jefferies was a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, selected No. 121 overall. He has yet to make his debut with the Islanders and spent the 2025-26 season playing for the Bridgeport Islanders in the AHL.

Islanders extend three qualifying offers

Worcester Railers goalie Henrik Tikkanen focuses on the play. / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In 60 games played, the 24-year-old registered 29 points, handing out 20 assists and scoring nine goals. He showed enough during that time that the Islanders extended him a qualifying offer to retain his rights.

The 2025-26 campaign was Larson’s first as a full-time professional. He appeared in 63 games with Bridgeport after a six-game cameo the season prior. Most of the 2024-25 campaign was spent with the Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA.

This past year, he scored 17 goals and handed out 11 assists with New York’s AHL affiliate. He was signed by the Islanders on March 31, 2025.

Tikkanen was a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, No. 214 overall. He spent time this past season in the ECHL with the Worcester Railers, where he had a 5-2-1 record, a save percentage of .929 and a 2.03 goals-against average.

#Isles Transactions: The team has tendered qualifying offers to Alex Jefferies, Joey Larson, and Henrik Tikkanen.

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) June 29, 2026

Not nearly as much success was found with Bridgeport in the AHL, where he played in 29 games. Plenty of games were won with a 17-9-3 record, but he registered a save percentage of .895 and a goals-against average of 2.65.

Alas, those weren’t the only potential restricted free agents the team had; they were just the only three players to receive qualifying offers. Adam Boqvist, Marc Gatcomb, Max Shabanov, Matthew Maggio, and Ruslan Iskhakov were also eligible, but the team is allowing them to enter unrestricted free agency.

Out of those five who didn’t receive qualifying offers, only Maggio and Iskhakov didn’t appear in a game for the Islanders last season. Gatcomb had 49 appearances, averaging 10:05 of ice time per game.

Shabanov had 44 games played, averaging 13:41 of ice time, and Boqvist had 28 games played, averaging 13:01.