Ilya Sorokin has still yet to sign a contract with the New York Islanders. It is unlikely that Sorokin will be poached by another team, but it is interesting to see what his contract will look like. After all, Sorkin has the potential of being one of, if not, the best goaltender in the league. Yet you can’t sign contracts solely based on potential. So Sorokin’s new contract will be interesting to see.

To get an idea of what Sorokin’s contract will look like, it is important that we compare him to another young goaltender in New York: Igor Shesterkin. Those two are extremely close together when it comes to their friendship and potential. Shesterkin signed a four-year contract worth over $5.5 million a season. This has been a similar number that has been thrown out for Sorokin and his new contract.

Now where Sorokin and Shesterkin differ: Sorokin has been more laid back when it comes to getting a new deal. Many reports from the Rangers camp feared that Shesterkin would be asking for $7 million a year and could even go to arbitration.

That was not the case with Sorokin. In a recent interview back in his home country – Russia – Sorokin was asked whether he was going to file for arbitration.

“I don’t want to go to arbitration, why spoil relations with the management,” Sorokin said. “It seems to me that the issue of the contract can be resolved humanly.”

It seems as Sorokin is trying to keep a good relationship with the front office in order to get a contract done as soon as possible. And maybe a team-friendly deal at that.

While Sorokin has still yet to put ink on paper for a new deal, there is a positive outlook that he will be close to signing a new deal soon. I think the deal could be around $5 million a season for five years. If Sorokin progresses how the team hopes, then that will be an amazing team-friendly deal.

Jack Kobil

Hi, my name is Jack Kobil. I am currently attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington DC. I am a huge Islanders fan and I love to share my passion for this team.