According to multiple online reports, veteran NHLer Leo Komarov is set to leave the New York Islanders organization and will join SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.
If indeed Komarov's contract is terminated tomorrow, that will free up $3 million in salary cap space.
Now, I'm no conspiracy theorist but I can't help but feel like the Islanders under GM Lou Lamoriello seem to have no problem cleaning up any salary cap troubles that come their way. Just last week Lamoriello managed to find a taker for the injured Johnny Boychuk and his $6 million salary and it cost the Islanders exactly nothing.
So, if you're keeping scoring at home that's $9 million in salary cap space that Lamoriello has cleared for the Islanders this week and it has cost him no assets to do so. Honestly... that's just some straight up wizardry.
You have to imagine that Lamoriello is planning to do something big with the whopping $9 million in cap space he has created for himself and, personally, I can't wait to see what the next trick is that he has up his sleeve.
As for Komarov, if this indeed the end of his NHL career he'll walk away with 63 goals and 107 points in 491 games split between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Islanders. Komarov, of course, began his career with the Leafs under Lamoriello and followed him to Long Island in 2018. He's a former NHL All-Star from his time with the Leafs and will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the best, most hardworking players on the Leafs in a time when the team didn't have much on-ice success. He was a part of that weird transitional period in Leafs history when they went from the Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf led Leafs to the current Auston Matthews and John Tavares led Leafs.
He carried over his hardworking ways to the Islanders and was a versatile forward capable of playing top line minutes or 4th line, crash and bang duty. At 34 years old and with a $3 million price tag though, Komarov simply reached the "best before date" on his NHL career. Still, he had a stellar career and here's hoping he can end things on his own terms in Europe.
