Report: Islanders Star Goalie Battling Unknown Injury

The New York Islanders may already have injury issues with their star goalie.

Apr 22, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) watches the shot during the warmups before the game against the Carolina Hurricanes in game two of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images / James Guillory-Imagn Images

The New York Islanders have had one of the top goalies in the NHL for the past four seasons, but 2024-25 might get off to a slow start. A new report has indicated that Ilya Sorokin is dealing with an offseason injury.

According to Elliotte Friedman in the newest 32 Thoughts Podcast, Sorokin is working through some sort of undisclosed injury.

“It’s tough to tell in the offseason,” Friedman said. “I think Sorokin has been battling something.”

Friedman didn’t have any more information to give, noting that the Islanders, their management, and Sorokin’s agent are all keeping quiet. The Islanders are usually a tough team to extract inside information from, and this is just another instance.

Thanks to president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello, the Islanders rarely leak out or let people in on this sort of information.

“The Islanders are obviously very private,” Friedman said. “Lamoriello is very private… I don’t know how serious it is or isn’t. The agent won’t say anything out of respect to Lamoriello.”

Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Islanders are expected to have one of the top goaltending duos in the NHL with Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. The two have had success in their years working together and are looking to backstop the Islanders into another postseason appearance.

Sorokin played 56 games in 2023-24 and put up a 25-19-12 record; not one of his best showings but enough to sneak the Islanders into the playoffs. In 192 career games, he has a 95-65-30 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average.

Sorokin finished second in Vezina Trophy voting in 2022-23 and routinely shows why he’s one of the best goalies the league has to offer.

The Islanders are also a steel cage when it comes to information during the offseason. Any further updates on Sorokin and his status likely won’t see the light of day until their training camp opens.

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