RALEIGH, N.C. — Had Mike Reilly been offered another contract by the Islanders during the offseason, he likely would have taken it.
That, however, never came to pass.
“I met with Lou [Lamoriello] after the season. It was kinda, let’s see how things shake out here with the rest of the team and stuff and see where it goes,” Reilly, now with the Hurricanes, said Thursday before the Islanders lost 6-2 to Carolina. “And obviously, they let him go. There wasn’t too much from New York at all.
“I think my agent [Pat Brisson] talked to [Mathieu] Darche once, early June or so. There was nothing there. If there was an opportunity to come back, I definitely wanted to, but there was nothing there.”
If that didn’t make the writing on the wall clear, then the Islanders winning the first pick and the right to draft Matthew Schaefer did. Reilly ended up signing a $1.1 million deal with the Hurricanes instead of returning for a third year on the Island, and got a measure of revenge Thursday by scoring a shorthanded goal.
“I shouldn’t say I was sad. Obviously, there was some great times there, for sure,” Reilly said. “I kinda saw it coming a little bit that I would probably have to go a different route and that’s what happened.”
Though Reilly came in as the Hurricanes’ seventh defenseman, injuries to Jaccob Slavin and K’Andre Miller have given him a pathway into the lineup, including Thursday against the Isles.
“I think it’s been a good first [year] so far,” Reilly said. “Just like New York, a lot of guys have been here for many years. Similar group in a way and there’s a couple new guys this year, obviously, but you can tell just coming into Raleigh and seeing how these guys work, how they go about their business. They’re in the playoffs every single year, making runs and whatnot.”
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said Reilly has added stability to their defense corps.
“He’s been around, he understands. You know what you’re getting,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s not gonna wow you and do something that’s — ‘Oooh [wow].’ He knows how to play. I think he’s probably played every system there is, so it’s not like this is new.”
Alexander Romanov was activated off injured reserve and returned to the lineup for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury Oct. 16 against Edmonton, playing 19:40 on a pair with Tony DeAngelo.
“I thought he moved the puck well,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I was very happy with his game.”
With Schaefer playing his 10th game, it’s now official that the Islanders will use a year of his entry-level deal.
