Islanders, Marc Gatcomb agree to 1-year deal
Marc Gatcomb of the Islanders skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning at UBS Arena on April 1. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Mathieu Darche's nonstop frenzy of work since being hired as the Islanders’ general manager and executive vice president on May 23 should be coming to at least a temporary pause.
Restricted free agent forward Marc Gatcomb agreed to a one-year deal worth $900,000 on Sunday before the 5 p.m. deadline for club-elected salary arbitration.
Significantly, it’s a one-way deal, meaning Gatcomb is paid the same whether he’s on the NHL roster or reassigned to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.
Barring any summer trades Darche might pull off, however doubtful, it leaves RFA forward Maxim Tsyplakov as the last outstanding piece of summer NHL roster work for Darche.
Tsyplakov, 26, filed for player-elected salary arbitration before Saturday’s deadline to do so.
Tsyplakov, who had 10 goals and 25 assists in 77 games in his first NHL season after playing parts of seven seasons in the Russian KHL, received a $897,750 qualifying offer from the Islanders.
Arbitration hearings will be between July 20-Aug. 4.
Gatcomb, 25, received a $813,750 QO after notching eight goals and one assist in 39 games as the fourth-line right wing, sticking in the NHL after a midseason call-up from Bridgeport.
But Gatcomb’s playing time for this coming season is very much in question.
Darche acquired bottom-six wing Emil Heineman from the Canadiens as part of the Noah Dobson trade and signed NHL veteran Jonathan Drouin and KHL standout Maxim Shabanov as free agents. All are almost assured spots among the top 12 forwards.
Depending on whether Anthony Duclair is part of the lineup, Gatcomb could wind up battling Pierre Engvall and Kyle MacLean for a place on the Islanders' roster.
The Islanders have $3.9 million in space available under the $95.5 million salary cap.
The Islanders’ window to buy out a player (Engvall?) remains open as long as they have an arbitration-eligible player. But Darche told Newsday in June he did not believe he would use that option.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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