Islanders: Mat Barzal, Matt Martin and Andy Greene officially signed

After coming to terms on an extension with RFA Mathew Barzal on Saturday and reportedly agreeing to new contracts with UFA’s Matt Martin and Andy Greene months ago, the New York Islanders have now officially filed the three contracts with the league, reports CapFriendly.

The terms of Barzal’s new contract are exactly as reported on Saturday. The three-year bridge deal will result in a $7 million average annual value, but with increasing base salaries of a $3 million, $7 million and $10 million before the skilled center becomes a restricted free agent again after the 2022-23 season.

Martin’s contract is also as previously reported: a four-year deal with a $1.5MM average annual value. In fact, Martin will make exactly $1.5 million in base salary in three of those four seasons. However, for the 2020-21 season, Martin will earn a minimum base salary of $700,000 and an $800,000 signing bonus. Regardless of the structure, it is a nice contract for the veteran grinder, who will likely retire as an Islander at 35 years old when the deal expires.

The agreement with Greene had not previously been reported, but is what one might expect for a 38-year-old defender entering his 15th NHL season. It is a one-year deal for Greene, who some expected to finish his career last season after the career New Jersey Devil was dealt to the Islanders. Instead, he returns to give the Islanders his best for a full season rather than just a stretch run. Greene will earn a minimum base salary of $700,000. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he is eligible to earn up to $2 million in performance bonuses.

As CapFriendly notes, these deals set the Islanders up very well to take full advantage of the Long-Term Injured Reserve savings afforded to them by Johnny Boychuk’s “retirement”. The Isles would like to be as close to $6 million over the salary cap upper limit in order to fully use the subtraction of Boychuk’s cap hit. With these three contracts, they sit at $5.29 million over the cap with room for another minimum contract to be added to final roster.

That minimum contract could very well belong to Cory Schneider. The veteran goaltender has been linked to the Islanders alongside Martin and Greene for some time and has been in camp on a PTO. Although Schneider is expected to be the club’s No. 3 goalie, likely a taxi-squad member used as the emergency backup, he could begin the year on the official roster as that extra $700,000 man.