According to the reports, the New York Islanders will re-sign free-agent forward Kyle Palmieri to a new contract.
All indications Kyle Palmieri stays with NYI
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 28, 2021
UPDATE: The New York Islanders have made the deal official, announcing they’ve re-signed Palmieri to a multi-year deal. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that it’s a four-year, $20 million deal, paying Palmieri $5 million per season through 2024-25.
Kyle Palmieri Re-Signs With Islanders
It was an up and down year for Kyle Palmieri. Entering the final year of his contract with the New Jersey Devils, he had a 10-month layoff before taking to the ice. Things did not start off exactly as planned for the goal scorer. The breaks were not going his way and the leading scorer from a year ago was snake bitten for most of the season. There was definitely a disappointing feeling surrounding Palmieri and the Devils. As prior to the trade deadline, he only recorded 17 points (eight goals and nine assists). The Devils traded Palmieri to the New York Islanders along with Travis Zajac. Palmieri only recorded four points scoring twice.
However, once the playoffs came, Palmieri provided the offence the Islanders were looking for. He set a career-high in playoff goals with seven including two game-winning goals. Playing alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Travis Zajac, the Islanders third line was a force in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Anaheim Ducks first-round draft pick in his career has 359 points (185 goals and 174 assists) in 612 career regular-season games. In 57 career playoff games, Palmieri has recorded 24 points (15 goals and nine assists).
What Palmieri Brings
Playing on the Devils, he was playing first-line minutes as a scoring winger. Remaining on the Islanders is the best thing for Palmieri. He is a third-line player and will remain alongside Pageau. He is a goal-scorer and goal scorers are streaky. Not to mention he is not getting any younger. Palmieri is 30 now and the team signing is getting him on the backend of his career. Outside of being a depth scorer, Palmieri has a good shot that is effective on the power play. That is where he scored a lot of his goals for the Devils. And the Islanders used him there as well. His big body in front drives goalies crazy. But if he set up for his shot inside the faceoff circle, Palmieri will score. He is an asset that still has a few good years left.
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