Ilya Sorokin planned to approach this summer the same way he does everything else: keep his head down, focus on hockey and tune out the rest. 

There was just one piece of business first, which the goaltender got out of the way quickly on July 1, when he signed an eight-year, $66 million extension to remain with the Islanders.

That sealed his future through 2032 and allowed him to go about the rest of the summer as planned. 

“When I [signed], I was really happy. But next day I just started working,” Sorokin said Saturday in his first public comments since the extension. “Don’t think about contracts. I just think about what I can do and how I can be better.” 

Had the Islanders not been able to come to an agreement with Sorokin, the specter of him leaving next summer would have hung around like a shadow.

No player on the roster is more important than the Russian, who started 60 games last season and whose .924 save percentage ranked third in the league. 

“When you have a last year of a contract, without [an extension], you see all this [stuff], you try and not think about this,” Sorokin said. “But it’s hard. Now, my mind is clean. And I can just relax. 

“Not relax, it’s the wrong word. Think just about hockey.” 

Retaining Sorokin was not just a way of shoring up the Islanders’ plans in net.

It also had a direct impact on their ability to retain other pending free agents. 

“For me, he was a big part of me coming back here, making sure that he wanted to be here” said Scott Mayfield, who re-upped for seven years over the summer. “I think it says a lot about him. If he goes to free agency — most guys have anywhere from five to 10 teams or whatever. I think he’d have every single team [trying to sign him].” 

By re-signing Semyon Varlamov, Sorokin’s close friend and fellow Russian, the Islanders kept intact both parts of a goalie tandem that finished behind only the Bruins last season in save percentage. 

“He deserves it,” Sorokin said. “I’m happy he is with us.” 

In crafting the Islanders, general manager Lou Lamoriello has operated by his long-standing philosophy that teams should be built from the goal outwards.

The Islanders’ roster is not meant to lead the league in scoring, but Sorokin can keep them in games against almost any opponent. 

The hope, because of the length of his deal, is that Sorokin can be the sort of cornerstone for Lamoriello’s Islanders that Martin Brodeur was for Lamoriello’s Devils. 

“Ilya’s a special player. Special athlete,” Anders Lee said. “One of the best goalies in the league. He’s been proving that for a long time now. It’s definitely Ilya on out. We work out from him. That’s how we’ve been, that’s been part of our identity. It’s great to see him as an Islander for a long time.” 

As for the Islanders’ prospects for the 2023-24 season after they made the playoffs on the last day of this past regular season and were bounced in the first round by the Hurricanes, Sorokin wasn’t too interested in big predictions. 

“We’ll see this year. It’s not really a question for me,” he said. “I believe we’ll have a great team and season.” 

The Islanders turned out on Saturday at Northwell Health Ice Center for Lee’s Kancer Jam Fundraiser, in which 64 teams competed in a Kan Jam tournament to raise money to support families affected by cancer. 

Lee has hosted such events before, but because of the pandemic, this was the first he had hosted in person since 2019. 

“Just being able to bring it back after having a few years off, being able to do it at the rink, it’s just an exciting day,” Lee said. “I’m really excited to get this going again and be able to hang out with some kids and families today.