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Goalies sign: Islanders choose Varlamov; Mrazek sticks with Hurricanes

mrazekvarla

Apparently, when the post-Sergei Bobrovsky goalie dominoes fall in free agency, they fall fast.

Along with the Chicago Blackhawks taking a one-year flier on Robin Lehner, we have two other significant decisions.
[More on Chicago adding Lehner]

The New York Islanders decided to hitch their future to Semyon Varlamov, whom they signed to a four-year, $20 million contract. The Islanders are rolling the dice with a 31-year-old who hasn’t enjoyed his strongest work lately. Clearly, the organization believes in his potential. This is a medium-sized gamble, if not a big one.

Varlamov started 49 games last season and saw his even strength save percentage dip from .923 to .916. Injuries opened the door for Phillip Grubauer to assume the No. 1 role and put an end to Varlamov’s eight-season tenure with the Avalanche.

The battle for the net on Long Island will be between Varlamov and Thomas Greiss after negotiations with Lehner failed to end with an agreement.

“It’s really tough to see Robin go,” said Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello. “We’re all disappointed it didn’t work out but we wish him nothing but the best in Chicago, he’ll do great there.”
[ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker]

Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes brought back Petr Mrazek, the 27-year-old goalie who helped them break their playoff curse. It’s for $6.25 million over two years, which translates to a $3.125M cap hit in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Between Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney, who inked a two-year deal with the Lightning, the pair helped solve an issue for the Hurricanes this past season and helped them reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in a decade. Mrazek boasted a .927 even strength save percentage in 40 starts.

“Petr took a chance on himself with the deal he agreed to here last summer, and we were all rewarded with the tremendous season he put together,” said Hurricanes GM Waddell said in a statement. “This solidifies our options at the goaltending position moving forward.”

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.