Examining What a New Contract for Adam Pelech Would Look Like | NYHN+

Casey Cizikas is headlining a stable of pending unrestricted free agents that the New York Islanders have to deal with. Lou Lamoriello and the rest of the Islanders front office also have a handful of restricted free agents that need new contracts, including Adam Pelech.

As part of the Islanders’ top defensive pair, Pelech is in store for a raise after the year he had for New York and he will get one. Lamoriello told reporters on Tuesday that his plan is to keep the RFAs that the Islanders have without having to ship one away to help make room under the salary cap.

Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman suggested that the Islanders offseason could begin with getting a deal worked out for Pelech, and that would make sense. But how much is Pelech worth and what would a new contract look like for him?

The easiest comparison would be to look back at how the Islanders handled then-RFA and Pelech’s defensive partner Ryan Pulock. The Islanders defenseman signed a two-year, $10 million contract last offseason after he found himself in the same position as Pelech does this year.

The deal came just five days before the Islanders were scheduled to sit down for arbitration.

Adam Pelech is arbitration-eligible and could very well elect to file for arbitration, but it would be surprising if it reached the point of the two sides sitting down with an arbitrator. With Pulock’s deal carrying a $5 AAV, Pelech is looking at a figure in the same ballpark.

While Pelech doesn’t bring the same offensive firepower as Pulock does — Pelech finished the year with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the regular season and five points (one goal, four assists) in the playoffs — the 26-year-old Pelech’s defensive abilities in his own end are crucial for the Islanders.

That didn’t become as evident as it did during the 2019-20 season when Pelech suffered a season-ending injury in January of 2020. The injury changed the trajectory of the Islanders’ season, even though they did end up reaching the Eastern Conference Finals following a pause in the season because of COVID-10, and they went from allowing 2.63 goals per game to 3.14 in Pelech’s absence.

During the playoffs this year, Pelech was a key component to shutting down the Boston Bruins “perfection line” during the Second Round. He also helped keep the Pittsburgh Penguins top players at bay in the First Round.

And his play alongside Pulock during the regular season made for one of the best pairings in the NHL. The duo was seventh (48.1)in  Shot attempts against/60 minutes, third (7.2) in High-danger scoring chances against/60 minutes and second in second (1.68) in Expected goals against/60 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.

It’s clear how important Adam Pelech is and with that in mind and considering the Islanders’ current cap situation, Pelech is likely looking at a new contract in the $4.5-$5 million range for a shorter term of two years. It would follow what Pulock did by inking a short-term deal allowing himself an even bigger payday when he reaches the possibility of being an unrestricted free agent.

The two-year deal at that term per year would give Pelech the raise that he has rightfully earned while allowing himself to cash in down the road when the salary cap begins to rise across again.

The Islanders cap situation has put them once again in a precarious spot this offseason, but they managed to work around it last year to success. Will this year start with locking up Pelech as Friedman suggested? Only time will tell.