Islanders Have True Franchise Goaltender in Sorokin

After former New York Islanders great and Hall of Fame goaltender Billy Smith retired, the franchise needed to find a goaltender that would give them a chance to win on a nightly basis and be someone that could take the franchise to new heights.

From the late 80s through the early 2020s, the organization went through a plethora of goaltenders. Guys like Glenn Healy, Mark Fitzpatrick, Tommy Soderstrom, Eric Fichaud, Tommy Salo, Roberto Luongo, Dwayne Roloson, Martin Biron, Evgeni Nabokov, Jaroslav Halak, Thomas Greiss, and so on and so forth were all given a chance to be that guy, and none of them were able to deliver.

Rick DiPietro was the main goaltender that was supposed to be the next great goaltender for the Islanders. The team selected him with the number one overall pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Still, due to various injuries, he was never able to play well enough consistently or stay on the ice long enough to establish himself as the true franchise goaltender of the Islanders.

Fast forward to now, and it appears that the Islanders finally have their guy in Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin, 27, was the 78th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and has come into the NHL and taken it by storm.

In the shortened 2020-21 COVID season, Sorokin showed the franchise that he could be counted on to be that guy for their hockey club. He finished the season with a record of 13-6-0-3 to go along with a 2.17 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage, and three shutouts.

He followed that up with an even better season in 2021-22. He was 26-18-0-8 with a 2.40 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage, and seven shutouts.

In his first two seasons, he showed both their franchise and their fans that they had a true franchise goaltender. They finally had a goaltender who could stay healthy, be on the ice consistently, and play extremely well for long stretches of time.

It was this past season, however, that Sorokin showed that he could end up being a world-class goaltender for a long time. He was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender as he was 31-22-0-7 with a 2.34 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage, and six shutouts.

Because Sorokin has shown the Islanders that he is the real deal, the team signed him to an eight-year contract extension that begins in the 2024-25 season back on July 1. There are a few reasons why this was an extremely smart move for the Islanders.

For starters, Sorokin has already shown that he can put up great statistics. In 136 career games, he is 70-46-0-18 with a 2.34 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage, and 16 shutouts.

Believe it or not, his numbers are almost comparable to his good friend and rival Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers. In 158 career games, Shesterkin is 99-42-0-15 with a 2.37 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage, and 11 shutouts.  

Secondly, Sorokin consistently gives the Islanders a chance to win games, even ones that they do not deserve to win. He makes the big save when the team needs one, he stops pucks he should stop by being sound positionally, and he is someone that can stop second and third opportunities if he needs to.

Lastly, he has not even hit his ceiling yet. He will be turning 28 years old on August 4 and will be just entering his prime, which means that the Islanders, their fans, and the hockey world have yet to see Sorokin at his absolute best, which is really scary considering how good he already is.

If you are an Islanders fan, you should be excited. The rest of your roster might need some work, but for the foreseeable future, you are more than set in goal with Sorokin.