NY Islanders Need Ilya Sorokin To Have Vezina Trophy-Like Season To Make Playoffs

The New York Islanders need Ilya Sorokin to play at an elite level to make it back to the playoffs this season.

Apr 12, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) during the first period against the Montréal Canadiens at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alexander Wohl-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Islanders are coming off their most electrifying season in years and are looking to keep that momentum going.

The surge was led by young defensive phenom Matthew Schaefer, the first overall pick in 2025, who skipped nearly all of the growing pains a defenseman normally goes through. 

The Islanders finished just eight points (four games) out of the Wild Card last season in a stacked Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. It was a massive step up from where they were. The main change was their style of play. With the addition of Schaefer, New York was willing to play more aggressively on offense and enter the zone as a whole. 

While the Islanders were more aggressive, they still struggled to score goals and left the defense on an island of their own, fighting to stay alive game in and game out. That isn’t necessarily sustainable, and it hasn’t changed much over the offseason; it might still be a problem. So, the attention turns to the 31-year-old goaltender Ilya Sorokin.

Ilya Sorokin Needs to Step Up Even More

Apr 9, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) stands in the goal crease during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Isles have an overflow of defensemen. Schaefer, Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield lead the way on the blue line. Young guys like Isaiah George, Kashawn Aitcheson, and Malte Gustafsson are lingering, ready to take a roster spot in the next couple of seasons.

Then, Pete DeBoer is getting ready to coach his first full season with the Islanders and is gearing up to make this defensive unit even better. That leaves Sorokin needing to have a big impact in between the pipes next season to boost this defensive core even more.

Sorokin is going to be one of, if not the biggest piece of the puzzle for New York this upcoming season. The Islanders, in the 2025-26 campaign, struggled to put the puck into the back of the net. While there are new faces to hopefully help with that, with Victor Eklund and Cole Eisserman pushing hard for a roster spot, the back end remains New York’s biggest strength.

Sorokin was incredible last season for the Islanders. He started in 55 games and finished with a 29-24-9 record while posting a .906 SV% and a 2.68 GAA, and ended with a league-leading seven shutouts.

Sorokin’s best stretch came at the beginning of the season, though, as when the Olympic break came along, his record was 20-13-2, and he had a .916 SV%.

Unfortunately, the workload caught up to him, and he finished the campaign 9-11-0, with his SV% dropping to .866. Despite the end-of-season decline, he still earned second place behind Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy in the Vezina Trophy voting. 

The Islanders will need him to do that again if they want any shot at making the playoffs come next April. They’re also going to need Sorokin to hold strong to the end of the regular season, as difficult as it is. He is one of the best goalies in the league, and they’re going to need him to show it once again.