Islanders re-sign Henrik Tikkanen to one-year contract

The New York Islanders have re-signed Henrik Tikkanen to a one-year, two-way contract, the club announced Friday afternoon.

Tikkanen, 25, split the 2025-26 season between the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders and the ECHL’s Worcester Railers. The 6’8″ netminder spent most of the year in Bridgeport, posting a 17-9-1 record, one shutout, and an .897 save percentage in 29 games; he also went 5-2-1 with a .929 save percentage in eight games with Worcester and was named a 2026 ECHL All-Star.

According to PuckPedia, Tikkanen’s new deal with the Islanders carries an $850,000 NHL cap hit, and will also see him paid at a $130,000 salary for the time he spends in the AHL with the newly relocated Hamilton Hammers. Tikkanen has yet to make his NHL debut.

The Islanders originally selected Tikkanen in the seventh round (No. 214 overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. The Lohja, Finland product developed into the HIFK junior system in his home country before joining MoDo in Sweden’s Allsvenskan league for the 2021-22 campaign; after that, he came to North America for 2022-23, immediately establishing himself as Worcester’s starter in the ECHL.

Tikkanen has split his time almost evenly between Bridgeport and Worcester since coming stateside, although he’s gradually left the ECHL behind to become more of an AHL fixture. In 77 career AHL games, he’s posted a 31-33-7 record, two shutouts, and an .892 save percentage; he’s gone 36-30-5 with six shutouts and a .910 save percentage in 73 career ECHL contests.

The Islanders now have five goaltenders signed to NHL contracts for the 2026-27 season: Ilya Sorokin, Semyon Varlamov, Vitek Vanecek, Joshua Kotai, and Tikkanen. Varlamov is expected to compete for a spot on Long Island again after appearing in just two AHL games during the 2025-26 season while recovering from significant knee issues.