NEW YORK — The sleek-skating playmaker often has repeated how much he enjoys playing for the Islanders and how he hoped to remain on Long Island for the long term. On Tuesday, the team announced Barzal, 25, had agreed to an eight-year extension, and an NHL source confirmed the average annual value is $9.15 million.
The $73.2 million package becomes the richest contract in Islanders’ history.
“There’s just so much excitement,” Barzal said at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow before the Islanders faced the Flyers in a preseason game in Philadelphia. “It’s one of those days you’re never going to forget. I called my parents last night when it got done. Any time your mom has a tear in her eye, you either did something really good or something really bad. It’s a special day for me and my family.
“I love it here. I genuinely do. I think it’s really one of the top places to play in the league. There’s really no other place I’d rather be.”
Barzal is entering the final season of a three-year, $21 million deal — his newly-signed extension begins in 2023-24 — and would have been a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next offseason. He said negotiations between his agent, J.P. Barry, and Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello began about two months ago.
“I never had any talks with anyone about going anywhere else, doing anything else, playing this year out,” Barzal said. “It was all about wanting to get signed, wanting to commit to the boys and the organization.”
The Islanders open the regular season on Oct. 13 at UBS Arena, and Lamoriello said he likely would not have let contract negotiations “linger” once the preseason ended.
“It becomes a distraction,” Lamoriello said. “I don’t like distractions.”
“It was important for my mindset,” Barzal said. “It’s a lot of individualistic thoughts throughout the year. You’re playing mostly for yourself. So I’m glad I can get this done and play for the team and just commit to winning.”
Barzal, selected 16th overall in 2015, has either led the Islanders in scoring or been tied for the team points lead in each of his five NHL seasons. He had 15 goals and 44 assists in 73 games last season. The two-time All-Star has 91 goals and 220 assists in 362 games and won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in 2018 under ex-coach Doug Weight with 22 goals and 63 assists.
He hasn’t gotten close to 85 points again as Weight’s successor, Barry Trotz, and now Lane Lambert have pushed Barzal to become more responsible defensively.
“I’m a fan because Mat has the ability to raise his game and to be a special player,” Lamoriello said. “And now, with this contract and our faith in him, it puts that responsibility on him. We’re trusting that. Now it’s up to him to respond to that. There’s a comfort on both sides that can and will happen. That’s why it’s important to get something like this done.
“We’ve seen him develop his game each and every year rather than just offense. There’s no question he’s improved his game without the puck. He knows he has a ways to go in that area and is committed to doing that.”
Barzal knows the next step in his career is pushing the Islanders further in the postseason. They are coming off their first playoff miss since 2018.
“I want to be the best player I can be and be one of the top players in the league,” Barzal said. “It really comes down to just winning. Committing here for eight years, trying to bring a Stanley Cup back to Long Island, that’s the ultimate goal.”
