The New York Islanders have taken the first steps toward activating Noah Dobson off of long-term injured reserve. The team waived forward Hudson Fasching on Monday afternoon.
Dobson, 25, has missed the last 10 games with a lower-body injury suffered on January 20. At the time, the team gave no timeline, and some initial rumors sparked fears he could miss the rest of the season. Instead, Dobson misses just one game after the 4 Nations Face-Off and will play in a massive game against the New York Rangers tomorrow night.
Fasching, 29, has played in 19 games this season. He’s recorded 0 points while going -6. Additionally, he hasn’t played since January 5 in Boston. Under head coach Patrick Roy, Fasching’s seen a depleted role this season. Essentially, after suffering his injury in Boston, Marc Gatcomb not only replaced him but completely passed him on the depth chart.
It’s unlikely a team claims Fasching, who will be assigned to Bridgeport tomorrow, assuming he clears.
Why Fasching? Why Not Boqvist?
Waiving Fasching made the most sense compared to risking losing the young Adam Boqvist or Matt Martin’s locker room role. The idea of waiving Boqvist didn’t appeal to me, solely because his potential is still high.
Holding eight defensemen might be wise for the Islanders, given how this season has gone. All six of their defensemen who started the year on in the lineup have missed time with prolonged injuries. Scott Mayfield played just over 10 minutes last night and did not look great. He was out there for Jason Robertson’s power-play goals and struggled all night.
Additionally, Mathew Barzal will be placed on LTIR tomorrow afternoon. That will clear the cap space needed to activate Dobson, leaving the Islanders with just under $8 million in cap space ahead of the trade deadline in just 11 days.
Mike Reilly participated in the team’s morning skate yesterday. He suffered a concussion on November 1 in Buffalo. After medical testing, Reilly underwent heart surgery. He has not played since, but his appearance brought a lot of smiles. Roy said he isn’t cleared for contact but is progressing well.
If Reilly is to return, it creates another roster issue for the Islanders, but one that’ll be addressed at a later date.
