It tells you something that the Islanders had to get as deep as they did into their injury reserves before calling up Aatu Räty, but now that he is here, you have to wonder when he will be back in AHL Bridgeport.
Before we go any further, let’s stipulate: If the Islanders were fully healthy right now, Räty would likely be back in the AHL. Getting the roster back to 22 as soon as possible is imperative to maximize salary-cap space at the trade deadline, Hudson Fasching has earned a spot and if the Islanders carry seven defensemen (which, to be fair, is not a safe assumption), that would crowd out Simon Holmstrom, Ross Johnston and Räty.
But, if they felt comfortable without an extra defensemen, consider this: Räty, in his NHL debut, equaled Holmstrom’s goals total during his 14-game NHL stint and Johnston’s points total for the entire season.
To an extent, we are jousting at windmills here because it is entirely unclear when the Islanders will be healthy, or if they even will be. Semyon Varlamov, Kyle Palmieri and Cal Clutterbuck skated Wednesday. Holmstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom and Adam Pelech have yet to see the ice. That is the extent of the information available. If Pelech has a concussion, as suspected, then any timeline given would be worth the same as a shoulder shrug anyway. The knee-to-knee hit Holmstrom sustained from Florida’s Sam Bennett on Friday looked bad, but that could mean squat.
