NY Islanders Stars Suddenly Have Great Team-Friendly Contracts

With the salary cap going up in the NHL, two stars for the New York Islanders have team-friendly contracts.

Feb 26, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; View of a New York Islanders logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team during the third period at Bell Centre. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Islanders have been hard at work between the NHL Draft and free agency over the last couple of weeks. Now, as things start to settle down a bit, the team will be game-planning for the future. 

Despite the offseason perhaps not being exactly what many were hoping to see from the Islanders, the team is one that is clearly starting to think toward the future. New York didn’t make any notable splashes in free agency or on the trade market yet this offseason, with arguably the most impactful addition being the signing of Matias Maccelli. 

While the forward should be a middle-six player for the team, New York came into the summer with a need to improve in the scoring department. Options to improve in this area were limited for the Islanders, but they are seemingly more focused on next summer than this one. Fortunately, the outlook for their cap situation is much better next year, and there are a couple of reasons to be excited about that. 

Islanders Stars Have Great Contracts 

Apr 3, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat skates up ice during the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Following the salary cap going up this summer, there have been a number of contracts around the league that are suddenly much better than they were before. As shown in free agency this summer, the price to get good players has gone through the roof, making existing deals highly desirable. 

For New York, they saw two of their players with such deals instantly become much better looking overnight. Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal are the two best forwards on the team, and with multiple years left under $10 million a season, they quickly have become two of the better in the league. 

For Horvat, he has five years left on his deal at $8.5 million per season. His contract will bring him to the age of 36 years old, making it a lot of prime campaigns left under a strong number. Furthermore, Barzal’s deal is also excellent, with the exciting forward making $9.15 million for the next five seasons. 

When seeing a player like Alex Tuch, who is 30 years old, get an eight-year deal worth over $10 million per season from the Washington Capitals, it shows how good of a deal the Islanders have on these two players. 

Now, while the Islanders have both locked up for a long time, they are focused on getting rid of some of the bad deals that they have on the books. Next summer, the goal is for the team to have around $40 million in cap space to use and improve the roster. Overall, while the cap situation might not be great now, it will be quickly improving for the Islanders.