Anthony Duclair Signs With New York Islanders

Anthony Duclair Signing With New York Islanders

Lou Lamoriello is alive people! He did not want to miss out on the free agency party. The New York Islanders are adding winger Anthony Duclair on a four-year deal. In classic fashion, the team announced the news of the signing themselves:

#Isles News: President/General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced today that the team has signed Anthony Duclair to a four-year contract.

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) July 1, 2024

“The Duke” will carry a cap hit of $3.5 million per season. For a team whose offense tended to grind to a halt at times, injecting some speed and scoring touch is a great fit. He also played for head coach Patrick Roy in the QMJHL almost a decade ago. In 24 games with the Bolts after the trade deadline, the Quebec native scored 8 goals and 15 points in 17 games. If he can recreate that kind of scoring pacing on Long Island then this deal could age incredibly well. His total on the season were 24 goals and 42 points in 73 games. JFresh outlined the kind of player the Islanders are getting:

Anthony Duclair, signed 4x$3.5M by NYI, is a speedy rushing winger who creates chances at a strong rate and scores on them too. Downsides are poor defence and 5 goals in 39 career playoff games. #Isles pic.twitter.com/88uIZ6csPT

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2024

Another sidenote is that they brought back Mike Reilly for one year and $1.25 million. He deserved to return after scoring a career-high 24 points in 61 games after joining as a waiver claim. The knock on Lamoriello is that he always takes a while to feel out the market and lets his business wait into the later Summer. However, that is not the case here. After having a really solid draft last week, they got their main pieces of business done almost immediately. There are a couple of RFAs that need new deals, and with only $1 million in cap space left they could very well work another trade out. The dream of many fans is to bring Sens center Shane Pinto to UBS Arena after stalling contract talks in Ottawa.

Duclair joins former Bolts captain Steven Stamkos as the second Tampa Bay forward to walk in free agency. However, they always seem to manage and find a way.

Bruins Add Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov In Free Agency

The New York Islanders surprisingly bucked the trend and got busy in the opening hours of free agency. Adding Anthony Duclair will definitely give this group a boost.

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