Islanders Likely To Avoid Rostering Three Goaltenders: 'I Don't Think We Want To Go There Unless We Have To'

"I thought Vanacek played well," Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer said. "He gives us some good goalie depth in the organization."

Vanecek, who won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024-25 before joining the Utah Mammoth for the 2025-26 season, was brought in as an insurance policy for veteran netminder Semyon Varlamov , whose future was still in the air as he worked his way back from two partial knee replacements.

With Varlamov looking sharp but having yet to face the trials and tribulations of an NHL season since November of 2024, are the Islanders considering going with a three-goalie system to start this season?