NY Islanders Sign 26-Year-Old Goalie to Add Depth for Organization

The New York Islanders have signed a goalie to help provide some depth in the net.

Nov 22, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche speaks with fans at a pre-game event prior to the game against the St. Louis Blues at UBS Arena. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With the offseason starting to slow down a bit, the New York Islanders have still been active in trying to improve. 

Coming off a bit of a quiet free agency compared to the rest of the league, the Islanders are a team that is positioning themselves for the future. New York didn’t have the best cap space situation this summer, and their goal is to have more money to use next year. 

Based on how things are looking and the contracts coming off the board, the team should be in a much better cap situation next year with about $40 million expected to be free. 

Couple the cap space with the talented prospects that are coming up through the system, and the Islanders are in a good position going forward. Furthermore, even though they might not have added a lot this summer, there is reason to believe that they can contend for a playoff spot. 

New York still has some good things in place, led by a generational talent in Matthew Schaefer. However, as the team starts to prepare for the upcoming campaign, they have multiple different levels of the organization that they have to address. Recently, they added some goalie help. 

Islanders Add Goalie Depth 

🚨 AHL SIGNING SCOOP 🚨

Source informs @InsideAHLHockey that Tampa Bay UFA goalie Ryan Fanti is signing an AHL contract with Hamilton (NYI/#Isles) for 2026-27.@InsideAHLHockey #AHLFreeAgency26

— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) July 16, 2026

With the offseason rolling on, it still might behoove New York to try and add some help to their top nine. However, depth in the organization is also important, and the team has signed Ryan Fanti to an AHL deal. 

Fanti is 26 years old and was with the Tampa Bay Lightning and their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, last season. In 27 games, he performed well, totaling a 13-12-1 record, 2.41 GAA, and .905 save percentage. 

However, what his role with the Islanders will be should be interesting to monitor. Going to the ECHL might make the most sense with New York having a lot of goalies in the mix at the AHL level already. 

Assuming Semyon Varlamov is healthy, Vitek Vanecek will likely be down in the AHL with the Hamilton Hammers. Furthermore, they also have Joshua Kotai and Henrik Tikkanen in the mix as well. 

Since the Islanders have a star in net with Ilya Sorokin, the position is one that is a strength for the team. However, with Varlamov coming off missing a lot of time and possibly it being his last year with the team, depth and finding an eventual replacement for him as the backup are needed.