Islanders re-sign 4; Colorado signs Quinnipiac alum Toews for 4 years

The New York Islanders announced Tuesday that they have re-signed four restricted free agents with past or potential Bridgeport Sound Tigers ties. One of their former restricted free agents, former Bridgeport and Quinnipiac University standout Devon Toews, signed a four-year contract with Colorado.

The Islanders avoided salary arbitration with forward Josh Ho-Sang, signing him to a one-year contract after an unusual 2019-20. The 2014 firstround draft pick, 28th overall, didn’t arrive in Bridgeport until mid-December, sent home after training camp to await a potential trade that never happened.

“I was more focused on change. I didn’t feel I could grow,” Ho-Sang said as he returned in December. He only played 16 games in Bridgeport because of the late start and injury before the Islanders assigned him to San Antonio shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown in March.

Parker Wotherspoon and Mitch Vande Sompel, both defensemen, both signed two-year contracts with the Islanders, as first reported by PuckPedia.com, a website tracking NHL teams’ contracts. Vande Sompel lost last season to injury, but Wotherspoon played 62 of Bridgeport’s 63 games.

Another such site, CapFriendly.com, first reported that forward A.J. Greer signed a one-year deal with the Islanders. New York picked up Greer from Colorado on Oct. 11 in exchange for defenseman Kyle Burroughs, the Sound Tigers’ two-year captain.

The Islanders traded Burroughs’ former Bridgeport defense partner, Toews, to the Avalanche for two draft picks a day later, mostly because of salarycap pressures. Colorado announced a four-year deal for Toews on Tuesday for a reported $16.4 million. Toews had played a key role on defense for the Islanders this summer as they reached their first conference final since 1993.