The New York Islanders have made a decision make on their pending RFA Oliver Wahlstrom. The team’s former 11th overall pick from 2018 has a new contract. He will be in place for one year.
The Islanders drafted Oliver Wahlstrom with high hopes, the hope that he would develop into a consistent top 6 forward eventually. However, while showing flashes of his great shooting ability at times it hasn’t happened. After being tendered last year for $894k, it doesn’t look like the Islanders will do it again. The 23-year-old will most likely have a new home next season.
Wahlstrom Has New Contract With Islanders
What did he do last year?
For Wahlstrom, the 2023-24 season was underwhelming, similarly to how his entire Islanders tenure has gone. Coming off an ACL tear that cut his 2022-23 season short after a promising start on the first line, where he developed chemistry with Mathew Barzal, scoring 16 points in 35 games. He needed a bounce back season this year but it didn’t happen, scoring just 6 points in 32 games. After making the opening night roster he played just 19 games through December, coach Lane Lambert platooned him in the lineup with Julien Gauthier. When Patrick Roy took over he promised to play Wahlstrom more consistently. He scored 1 point and recorded only 8 shots in 9 games playing on the third line before he was out of the lineup again. Roy must’ve liked what he saw from Kyle Maclean and Simon Holmstrom more as they got the consistent playing time.
What does it mean for his new team?
The Wahlstrom contract makes sense for the club. For the Islanders, they will be getting a player who has the talent to play in the NHL if given the playing time. When Wahlstrom did get a chance in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons he didn’t play that bad and many Islanders fans thought he’d stick. He had 21 points in 44 games in 2020-21. Following that up with 24 points in 73 games the next season. While he might be better suited as a third liner instead of a top 6 guy, he is still very young and has room to grow into a better player given the chance. The Islanders have struggled to develop young talent before like, Joshua Ho-Sang, Michael Dal Colle and Kieffer Bellows to name a few. So there is a chance that it could’ve been the situation and not the player. Although, he will get another chance to prove himself.
Main Photo: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
