Former Islanders forward leaves for KHL after never getting a true NHL opportunity
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Former Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio signs one year deal with KHL club Salavat Yulaev after three years in Bridgeport produced no NHL call up.
Maggio, 23, was a fifth round pick by New York in 2022, going 142nd overall out of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires.
He broke out in a major way during his draft plus one season, scoring 54 goals and 111 points in 66 games as Windsor's captain, numbers that led the entire league and earned him OHL MVP honors.
That kind of production made him a name to watch, and the Islanders wasted little time locking him up with an entry level deal once his junior career ended.
Bridgeport never became a launching pad
The pro transition just never clicked the way it did in junior.
Across three seasons with AHL Bridgeport, Maggio put up 35 goals and 81 points in 187 games with a minus 35 rating, and he never earned so much as a single NHL call up.
He was even a healthy scratch for stretches down the stretch run and during Bridgeport's brief playoff appearance this past spring, a sign the organization had moved on in its plans for him.
Earlier reports had Maggio ticketed for Admiral Vladivostok, but the deal that actually came together sends him to Salavat Yulaev instead, a KHL club with a Gagarin Cup title to its name.
Still young enough for a path back
Maggio doesn't turn 24 until November, so a strong season in Russia could put him back on NHL radars in a year or two if he rediscovers the scoring touch that made him a junior star.
For now, the Islanders retain his rights while he chases regular minutes on the other side of the world.
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