But there Varlamov was Thursday, a full participant for the Islanders’ first on-ice session of training camp, hungry to return this season as the backup for Vezina Trophy finalist Ilya Sorokin.
“I just wasn't ready to retire mentally,” Varlamov said. “I just wasn't there. Of course, there were definitely some days it was in my mind when things were not going well. ... I was thinking, ‘Maybe, maybe this is it. I won't be able to come back.’
“(But) I'm finally feeling good and I'm feeling 100 percent on the first day of the training, so I'm very, very excited and looking forward to playing again.”
Partial or full knee replacements are common these days, but not for a professional athlete and certainly not for an NHL goalie. His resume speaks for itself, but Varlamov is determined to continue playing.
Varlamov is 289-232-71 with a 2.65 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and 41 shutouts in 621 regular-season games (593 starts) with the Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche and the Islanders since entering the League in 2008. He is 32-30 with a 2.44 GAA, .918 save percentage and four shutouts in 65 Stanley Cup Playoff games (62 starts), including helping New York make consecutive trips to the third round (2020, 2021).
“The type of surgeries I've had done, people do it, but no professional hockey players were able to do it and try to come back,” Varlamov said. “That was kind of like a crazy idea, a very risky idea. But I took a risk.”
Varlamov’s comeback became more of a possibility when he played two games at the end of last season with Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. He won both, allowing a total of three goals (.939 save percentage).
“‘Varly’ is going to be a case study for whoever did his surgery,” Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said. “It’s impressive how he’s come back. Like, and he feels … no medication, anything. I’ve asked our guys, too, ‘How’s he look?’ Because I don’t know much of Varly, you know. So, I said, ‘Does he look different?’ And they said, ‘No, he looks the same. He’s moving well.’ So that’s great news for us.
“It’s almost inspiring to our guys because he could have rode into the sunset, right, and just collect the last two years of his contract, and hey, he’s had a great career. But the way he’s worked, and he’s done all that, and he feels great. But let’s see how he feels now. Like, obviously, you skate in the summer, but training camp you go up, and then preseason games go up. So, let’s see how he reacts to that. But right now, everything is good.”
Varlamov knew the AHL games were his opportunity to show Darche and his staff that he could still play. If he struggled or potentially injured one or both of his knees, who knows if he would have been on the ice Thursday?
“It was very important for me to play at the end of last season,” Varlamov said. “We had a lot of discussions with the management of the team with Mathieu, and then we decided that it would be good for me to play. And I wanted to play and test myself, and then just see how my knees were going to react during the real game, not just practices. So, I felt like I had to play, no matter how I felt at the end of the last season. It would help me to get ready and just to see like where we at.
“It was a big test for me playing the first game. I felt very rusty but was able to get through it and then play the full game. The body responded well, knees responded well, and then the second game I went and played in Hershey, and then I felt like myself again. And then, I feel really good and then just confident. I was able to play the way I used to play, just feeling good like all three periods. So, it was very important to play. I feel like if I didn't play those two games, there's no chance the team would give me a chance to be part of this training camp, so that was very important two games.”
He’s certainly inspired his teammates, including center Bo Horvat, who was named Islanders captain Monday.
“Varly looks awesome,” Horvat said. “He has looked great ever since I got here, and yeah, he continues to keep getting better and better through practices. Every time I see him on the ice, I'm just excited for him and his family, for him to be back and looking the way he is. I’m just excited to see what's to come.”
Darche previously said he would love to see Varlamov play 25-30 games this season. He reiterated that Thursday, but Varlamov, who is in the last of a four-year contract and competing against Vitek Vanecek for the backup job, isn’t looking too far ahead.
New York plays its first of four preseason games on Sunday at the New Jersey Devils. The regular-season opener is set for Sept. 30 at the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I'm just taking it one day at a time,” Varlamov said. “I'm just focusing on what's the best thing I can do to be a better teammate, and then just the best version of yourself today. I can only control what’s happening today; I can't think about what's going to happen like in two, three weeks.
“Also, it's not under my control when I'm going to play and how many games I’m going to play. Maybe I'm not going to play, like, who knows, right? We have a lot of good goalies here, so I'm just focusing on today and I'm looking forward for another good day tomorrow.”
