Islanders Goalies. These two words do not usually go hand in hand.
The goalie situation for New York has been interesting over the last couple of years. In 2014, the Islanders signed Jaroslav Halak. Thomas Griess was brought in for the 2015-16 season to back up Halak. Then J.F. Berube was thrown into the fold.
The Islanders trio was often referred to as a “three-headed monster” as there wasn’t ever a clear starter, even though Halak was supposed to take that role.

After a trade to protect players, Berube was taken in the Las Vegas expansion draft, and now is currently in the New York Rangers organization. So for the 2017-18 season, it was just Halak and Griess, with a bit of Chris Gibson here and there. The four-year contract Halak signed in 2014 expired that offseason and he signed with the Boston Bruins on a two-year deal to back up Tuukka Rask. Thomas Griess was the only active goalie on the roster, with two years left on his contract.
The Islanders needed to pick up a goalie, and new Isles GM Lou Lamoriello took a chance on a goaltender from the Sabres. That goalie was Robin Lehner.

Although his stats were bad, he was given the benefit of the doubt for being on a very bad Sabres team. Lehner had 14 wins in 50 starts, a 3.01 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.

The 2018-19 season was very emotional for Islander fans. They returned to the Nassau Coliseum for the first time since 2015. They had a young star in the making ready to back up his Calder winning season, along with losing their captain and star player. The front office hired Lou Lamoriello as general manager and defending champion coach Barry Trotz. But for Robin Lehner, his life was about to change forever.

Lehner announced that he had a mental illness and has been battling addiction for many years. He was able to get help and overcome his personal battles. After splitting time with Thomas Griess, he won the starting job and helped lead the Isles to a playoff berth, including home ice for the first round. With a much-improved defense and better team in front of him Robin Lehner was fantastic and was finally able to show how good he really was, after getting clean. The Islanders swept the first round with Lehner in goal.

After losing in the second round the attention was to re-sign Lehner. The Isles and Lehner could not reach an agreement and he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Islanders brought in goaltender Semyon Varlamov on a four-year deal. This broke up the tandem of Lehner and Griess, who won the Jennings trophy for least goals allowed.
Varlamov is close to top prospect Ilya Sorokin and the White Whale can be a top goaltender in the NHL.
So, it looks like after years of uncertainty, Varlamov-Sorokin will be the Islanders goalies of the future.

John Smark