Tikkanen Signs One-Year Deal With Islanders, Gets AHL Raise
The goaltender's new contract bumps his minor league salary to $130,000 after he declined his qualifying offer.
Henrik Tikkanen signed a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders on Friday, July 17, after letting his qualifying offer expire earlier in the week.
The deal carries an $850,000 NHL salary, matching what the qualifying offer would have paid. The difference is in the AHL salary. Tikkanen's camp negotiated a bump to $130,000 at the minor league level, up from the $82,500 his qualifying offer would have included, according to The Hockey News.
The Islanders had tendered qualifying offers to Tikkanen, Alex Jefferies, and Joey Larson on June 29, per nhl.com. Tikkanen did not sign by the July 15 deadline at 5 p.m.
Tikkanen, 25, went 17-9-1 with a 2.65 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage in 29 games for Bridgeport in 2025-26. The Finnish goaltender was a seventh-round pick by the Islanders in 2020.
The Islanders announced the signing on nhl.com the same day. Tikkanen had signed his first entry-level contract with New York in April 2024 after splitting time between AHL Bridgeport and the ECHL's Worcester Railers.
