It has been a wild ride the last few months with New York Islanders’ elite goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin. News regarding the Russian netminder has changed frequently, but it appears as if he is finally eligible to sign with the New York Islanders.

After playing his seventh season with CSKA Moscow and, once again, being a dominant presence between the pipes, Sorokin has openly said he wants to sign with the New York Islanders. By signing Semyon Varlamov for him to work with, and having a close friend in Igor Shestyorkin playing on the New York Rangers, Sorokin has made it clear he wants to become an Islander. The fact that Sorokin has not signed yet is far out of his control, as the NHL has halted on allowing European players to sign before the play-in rounds.

However, yet another twist, but optimistic news came out of the Sorokin situation today. Arthur Staple of The Athletic posted the following on Twitter:

League sources say unsigned draft choices like Ilya Sorokin CAN sign to burn their entry-level years for 2019-20 but are NOT permitted to play in the RTP scenario next month.

Now it's up to #Isles and Sorokin whether they can agree to do so.

— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) July 6, 2020

In short, this means that Ilya Sorokin can officially become a New York Islander and sign a contract.

If he were to sign right now, his entry-level contract would include 2019-20, burning a year off of it. While of course, it would be better to get Sorokin on the cheap for as many years as possible, if the Islanders can officially their goalie of the future signed, this would put an end to any questions regarding Ilya Sorokin. He would officially be in the blue and orange.

Despite Sorokin signing during this period, he is not allowed to play in this year’s postseason tournament, similarly to Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild and Alexander Romanov of the Montreal Canadiens, but they can sign with their respective teams.

For Islander fans, the Sorokin saga has caused a lot of drama and concern as there have been a lot of twists and turns of bringing him to the Island. Now it is officially possible. At any moment, pen can meet paper, and Ilya Sorokin can sign and officially be a member of the New York Islanders.

John Smark