The Islanders got another piece of offseason business done ahead of next week’s draft.
Samuel Bolduc, a pending restricted free agent, signed a two-year extension, the team announced Tuesday.
An industry source told The Post it is a one-way deal for $800,000 annual average value — signaling the Islanders see the 22-year-old as a full-time NHLer next season.
Whether that will be as the team’s extra defenseman or as a part of the lineup on a nightly basis is a question that will likely be answered during training camp.
With Adam Pelech and Alexander Romanov’s names written in pen on the left side of the defensive depth chart, Bolduc and Sebastian Aho will be competing for a spot on the third pair.
Aho, who will be an unrestricted free agent next year, won the starting job for the same spot last season — beating out a group that included Robin Salo, Dennis Cholowski, Parker Wotherspoon and Grant Hutton after Salo made the opening night lineup.
The Islanders re-signed defenseman Samuel Bolduc to a two-year contract extension. Getty ImagesThe Swede went on to have the best NHL season of his career, fixing turnover issues that had kept him from being a lineup mainstay in the past to become an every-night piece of the Islanders’ blue line and put up 23 points.
It now stands to reason that if Bolduc can develop enough this season for the Islanders to feel comfortable in his abilities entering the 2024-25 season, Aho could walk as an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Islanders defenseman Samuel Bolduc battles Capitals forward T.J. Oshie for the puck on March 29, 2023. APThe road from here to there, however, is no guarantee.
Bolduc made his NHL debut last season, skating in 17 regular-season games and scoring twice, adding an assist. While the Islanders dealt with various injuries on the back end, Bolduc acquitted himself well, albeit not without growing pains — as the coaching staff sheltered him in Games 1 and 2 of the playoffs as the team waited for Romanov to get healthy.
Even so, he showed more than enough to give himself a good shot at playing time going into training camp. Over 56 games with AHL Bridgeport, Bolduc scored 35 points, bouncing back from a disappointing campaign the season prior to reestablish himself within the pecking order.
Now, the task is to move upwards on the depth chart.
