New York Islanders re-sign forward Oliver Wahlstrom to one-year contract

The New York Islanders have signed restricted free agent forward Oliver Wahlstrom to a one-year contract, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Thursday afternoon.

Wahlstrom, 24, collected two goals and six points in 32 games with the Islanders during the 2023-24 regular season. He did not appear in any games with the Islanders in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

According to Friedman, Wahlstrom’s new contract with the Islanders carries a $1 million cap hit. The 6’2″ right wing will be eligible to become a restricted free agent once again next summer.

Wahlstrom had previously filed for arbitration and was scheduled to attend his hearing on August 3 before coming to an agreement with the Islanders on Thursday.

The Islanders originally selected Wahlstrom with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. The Portland, Maine product came out of the U.S. National Team Development Program and spent one season at Boston College before turning pro in the Islanders organization in 2019.

Wahlstrom appeared in his first nine NHL games with the Islanders in the 2019-20 season and emerged as a full-time NHLer in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign, collecting 12 goals and 21 points in 44 games. The following year, Wahlstrom managed 13 goals and 24 points in 73 games with the Islanders.

But in the two years since, Wahlstrom has struggled to produce on a consistent basis and has been pushed down the Islanders’ lineup by head coaches Lane Lambert and Patrick Roy. He’s expected to compete with the likes of Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, Anthony Duclair, Pierre Engvall, and UFA signing Maxim Tsyplakov for ice time in 2024-25.

Through 193 career NHL games over parts of five seasons on Long Island, Wahlstrom has collected 34 goals and 67 points. He tacked on a goal and three points in five playoff contests with the Islanders in 2020.