The New York Islanders have taken the first steps toward activating Noah Dobson off of long-term injured reserve. The team waived defenseman Adam Boqvist 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.
Boqvist, 24, played in five games for the Islanders and scored one goal in his debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last night, Head Coach Patrick Roy opted to healthy scratch him. Boqvist arrived via waivers on January 31 from the Florida Panthers.
With Dobson returning, he’d be the team’s eighth defenseman, and the team decided that is too many to carry.
The Islanders waived Boqvist solely to make room for Dobson. Boqvist played well in his five games with the Islanders, showing clear offensive prowess and flashes of why he was selected ahead of Dobson in the 2018 draft.
Another team will almost undoubtedly claim Boqvist, something the Islanders knowingly risk. They’ve really liked his game and think there is potential for the young puck mover. However, given their roster constraints, they have been forced into the move.
Why Boqvist? Why Not Fasching?
The team could have waived Hudson Fasching, but that would’ve left the team with only 13 forwards. Matt Martin would’ve been the extra forward in that scenario.
Personally, I would’ve waived Fasching and carried the extra defenseman. 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.
Perhaps Mike Reilly, who participated in the team’s morning skate yesterday, could return sooner than we think. 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.
In any event, the Islanders waive the talented but admittedly still weak defender in Boqvist. The hope is he sneaks through waivers and can head to Bridgeport.
The next step is tomorrow afternoon. The Islanders will place Mathew Barzal on long-term injured reserve tomorrow. 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.
