Despite being a free agent, Robert Bortuzzo wanted to stay with the Islanders, but there was no room on the roster for him. The Isles have
Sebastian Aho, who played the entire season with the Pittsburgh Penguins,
Mike Reilly is returning on a one-year, $1.25 million deal and Scott Mayfield will be back after ankle surgery carrying a $3.5 million cap hit. For these reasons, Bortuzzo was the odd man out.