Veteran New York Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov is finally ready to return to the NHL after missing nearly two full seasons with a significant knee injury.
Varlamov will be ready to attend Islanders’ training camp later this month after last playing in an NHL game on Nov. 29, 2024.
The 38-year-old Russian needed two knee surgeries in addition to many months of rehab to get healthy.
General manager Mathieu Darche describes Varlamov’s return as “almost a miracle.”
“He’s doing great, actually. It’s almost a miracle,” Darche said told NHL.com. “Well, it’s not a miracle because he’s really put in the work. He’s been back here for at least a month. He’s on the ice four to five times a week, no medication, no pain, anything like that.
“So, right now, we expect him to be -- I mean, he’s going to be a full participant in camp. He’s going to play preseason games, and hopefully he’s ready to give us a lot of games this year.”
Varlamov, who’s entering his eighth season with the Islanders, played only 10 games during the 2024-25 season and hasn’t reached 30 games in a single season since 2021-22.
Over 621 career games with the Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche and Isles, Varlamov has a 2.65 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage alongside 41 shutouts.
Varlamov is in the final season of a four-year, $11 million contract, featuring an average annual value of $2.75 million.
The Islanders finished last season with a 43-34-5 record, finishing sixth in the Metropolitan Division, well out of the playoff picture.
Fellow Russian goalie Ilya Sorokin, 31, received the bulk of the work in the net, posting a solid 2.68 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage alongside an NHL-leading seven shutouts.
Backup goalie David Rittich had a 2.76 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage over 30 appearances.
“We kind of overused Ilya [down the stretch] and [Varlamov] is so well-liked around the room,” Darche said. “His collaboration with Ilya is awesome. So, right now, everything looks great.”
New York added to their goalie depth in the off-season, signing Vitek Vanecek, formerly of the Utah Mammoth, to a one-year deal.
In other injury news, forwards Kyle Palmieri and Pierre Engvall as well as defenceman Alexander Romanov are all healthy and ready for training camp.
Palmieri, 35, played only 25 games last season after tearing his ACL in late November while Engvall missed the entire campaign with an ankle injury suffered during training camp.
Romanov, 26, played in 15 games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in late November.
The 2026-27 season will be head coach Pete DeBoer’s first full campaign on Long Island after replacing Patrick Roy with just four games remaining in the regular season.
