Sorokin can breathe with Varlamov back
A rest may finally be in store for Ilya Sorokin.
The Islanders activated backup netminder Semyon Varlamov off injured reserve Monday, sending Ken Appleby to AHL Bridgeport in a corresponding move, restoring order in net after Sorokin had played in 14 straight games.
“He’s been playing a lot lately,” new coach Patrick Roy said of Sorokin after he made 41 saves in an overtime win over the Stars on Sunday. “I think it’s gonna be good when Varly’s back and gives him a bit of a rest, but he was very solid.”
A year after he played in 62 games, Sorokin’s workload has been nothing short of massive.
He’s faced more shots than any goaltender in the league (1,175) and played behind a defense that has bled highdanger looks all year. He has faced more than 40 shots in a game nine different times.
In correspondence with that, his numbers have dropped off from Vez- ina Trophy contention last year to something approaching normal this season — a .910 save percentage and 3.17 goals against average.
Getting Varlamov back after the netminder played just two games over the last month with a lower-body injury — the last being on Jan. 2 in Colorado when he exited 14:52 into the match — will be massive in reducing Sorokin’s workload.
The only action the Isles were comfortable giving Appleby came in the third period of a 5-0 loss in Minnesota, with the game already a lost cause by the time he came in. The next night in Winnipeg, there was Sorokin facing 43 shots in a loss.
It remains to be seen how Roy will rotate Sorokin and Varlamov in net.
But as a four-time Cup winner and Hall of Fame goaltender himself, it figures that he should have a good sense for what each of them can handle.
➤ The Islanders are not hiring a third assistant coach. At least not yet.
The team shot down a report from the Frenchlanguage outlet RDS that it had hired Benoit Desrosiers to Roy’s coaching staff on Monday morning in a statement. “Benoit Desrosiers has not been hired by the New York Islanders,” it read. “There are plans for president and general manager Lou Lamoriello to meet with Desroiers in the future.”
Desrosiers, who currently coaches the Quebec Major Junior League’s Gatineau Olympiques, worked on Roy’s staff with the Quebec Remparts for five seasons, including the 2023 Memorial Cup.
If Roy is looking to add a third assistant coach to a staff that already features Doug Houda and John MacLean, Desrosiers would be an obvious candidate. If he is meeting with Lamoriello in the future, that does imply it is on the table for the Isles to hire him in the future.
However, it is not clear when that would happen, should Lamoriello and Roy decide to hire him at all.
The shift from Lane Lambert to Roy has been fast and furious for the club, but on his introductory call with media, Roy said he had “zero interest” in a managerial role.
“When I took the job in Colorado, I think I was a bit of a dreamer and thinking that I could do both [coaching and management],” Roy said, referring to his first NHL job with the Avalanche. “I think I have plenty on my plate.”