Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer Just Had a Rookie Season for the Ages. His Contract Can Wait.

The New York Islanders might have landed the kind of defenseman most teams spend a decade dreaming about. Matthew Schaefer, taken first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, just finished a rookie season that puts him in some very rare air. He tied Brian Leetch’s record for most goals by a rookie defenseman with 23. Only two guys in NHL history have done that. And he’s one of just 20 rookie blue liners to crack 50 points in their first year.

But here’s the thing about finding a gem like that. Eventually, you have to pay him. And the recent contracts handed to Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson are going to make that conversation a lot more expensive for the Islanders.

Schaefer isn’t sweating it though. At least not yet.

“I’ll let my agent think about that. I don’t need to think about that. I’m still a kid, I’m still a year away from any of that,” Schaefer told NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy. “I love Long Island, we have something so special going on there. I don’t care about the money. I just want to play the game of hockey and that’s what I love.”

That’s the kind of answer fans want to hear. But agents hear dollar signs. Bedard’s entry-level deal with the Blackhawks set a new benchmark for young stars, and Carlsson followed close behind with the Ducks. Those numbers will be the starting point when Schaefer’s camp sits down with Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello. The team has some time — Schaefer is still a year away from being extension-eligible — but the market isn’t going to cool off.

The good news for the Islanders? Schaefer genuinely seems to love being there. He talked about the culture and the group they’re building. That matters. A lot of young stars look at the cap and the market and start counting days until free agency. Schaefer sounds like a guy who wants to be part of something.

What he did this season was legitimately historic. Twenty-three goals from the back end as a rookie. That’s not just good. That’s “build your franchise around this guy” territory. The Islanders have been searching for that kind of cornerstone since the dynasty years. They might have finally found him.

For now, the focus is on getting back to the playoffs. The money stuff will come. And when it does, it’s going to be a lot.