Brock Nelson isn’t telling his agent to put the phone down when the puck drops.
The Islanders center, who is set to hit free agency next summer, indicated Wednesday that he is open to negotiating an extension during the season if that route is open.
“I’m indifferent,” Nelson said. “I know that’s the backside of it, but at the same time, right now it’s just coming in here, working and playing. Having fun and worrying about your game. All that will sort itself out.
“[I’m] pretty comfortable with Lou [Lamoriello] and have a great relationship with him. Kind of sort things out and see how they play out. For me, there’s not a whole lot that goes into it outside of that and I get to go home and be with the kids. I get to not think about the game, which is great.”
Given that Nelson turns 33 during the first week of the season and has been an Islander for his entire career, how the club handles his pending free agency will be telling as to their future direction.
Nelson has not only stayed productive in his 30s, but played the best hockey of his career, reaching the 30-goal mark in each of the last three seasons and establishing himself as a high-end, second-line center.
The Islanders, though, need to decide how much money and how many years they are willing to commit to Nelson when he is currently outplaying the traditional aging curve.
Waiting and seeing how Nelson plays this season is not the only incentive for the Islanders to hold off on an extension for the time being.
If the team struggles this year, then Nelson would become one of the league’s most coveted assets at the trade deadline.
Moving Nelson ahead of March 7 would likely only happen if the Isles severely underperformed — the plan is to contend for the playoffs and more, not to sell off assets midseason.
But the door on that can’t be completely closed with Nelson unsigned and the regular season yet to start.
Nelson holds a 16-team no-trade clause and, having been an Islander since the 2010 draft, does not sound like he wants to go elsewhere or deal with any kind of drama surrounding his contract status.
“Been here a couple times and I think preparation, mindset all stays the same,” he said. “An ongoing process of just trying to fine-tune your game and be ready to go when the season comes to be a big part of the team, contribute. Raise the bar. Keep pushing. Try and make yourself and everyone else better. Push the team.”
Ilya Sorokin (back) still has yet to practice with the team a week into camp.
Islanders coach Patrick Roy did not have an update on Sorokin’s status Wednesday beyond saying he continues to skate on his own, but added that he was not worried about the goaltender.
“I had to remove a lymph node one year and it wasn’t my best start, but I felt like I was fine,” Roy said. “So I feel like he’s gonna be fine as well. We have two very good goaltenders and we’re just gonna manage the situation day by day, game by game. So no, I’m not concerned.”
