Reilly Reflects on Health Journey

After months of skating on his own and eventually skating with the New York Islanders, Mike Reilly joined the team for their California road trip. It’s been a long journey for the 31-year-old defenseman after a heart procedure in November, grateful to be with his teammates on the road.

“I feel like I’m ready to play, I feel good,” Reilly said. “I’ve been skating on my own a lot and getting touches and it feels good to be back with the team.”

Reilly was candid about how tough it’s been to be sidelined for the past four months. As he continued to make progress toward recovering, the Isles world was pulling for him in every step of his journey.

“I’m very grateful. There was a lot of people in my corner, the training staff, Lou, looking out for my best interest,” Reilly said. “The organization has been supportive from the start.”

Reilly reflected on the emotions of the beginning of his journey, when concussion protocol eventually revealed an issue unrelated to the hit to the head he sustained on Nov. 1 in Buffalo.

“It was a crazy week after the concussion,” Reilly said. “I was going to see a specialist for my head, and then for something to come out a day later that was heart-related, it was crushing. When I got all that news, it was a lot.”

After undergoing a heart procedure on Nov. 19, he was back on the ice just four weeks later. Reilly continued to take positive steps forward from there, joining the team for the first time on Feb. 23. He was cleared for contact on Feb. 28.

Reilly made it clear that it’s not a long-term issue, no matter how scary it may seem from the outside. He expressed how much trust he had in his surgeon, and how he got the procedure done in order to fix the issue, with his hockey career and long-term health in mind.

The three-month mark post-op is generally a key milestone in recovery from heart surgery, which Reilly explained that he had important follow-ups and evaluations at that time.

Thankfully, the prognosis was good.

“It wasn’t a guarantee that I’d be healed at the three-month mark, which was about two weeks ago,” Reilly said. “So, once I passed that, I was able to get off some medications and get cleared.”

There isn’t a timeline for his return, though he is with the team on their three-game California road trip, marking the first time he’s traveled with the team since Nov. 1.

Reilly admitted that not being able to travel with the team was one of the hardest parts about his journey. Staying back, skating on his own and working hard every day took the resilience he’s always had within him.

“My whole career, it hasn’t been smooth sailing at times, so I feel like it’s another bump in the road,” Reilly said. “Obviously I see this as health-related, but the only thing I can control is my attitude. Come to the rink with a smile on my face, keep working hard. When that day comes [to return] it’ll be special.”

Reilly signed a one-year contract extension on July 1, feeling good about his decision to stay on Long Island. He was claimed by the Isles off waivers in Nov. 2023 from the Florida Panthers, where he wasn’t seeing consistent ice time.

Getting an opportunity with the Islanders was the fresh start he was excited for and he fit right in. Reilly was looking forward to his first full season with the Isles, so the setback early in the season felt frustrating.

“I felt like last year when I got here, I kind of got the love of the game back after a tough year in Florida. When I got here last year, I thought things went well and the group was great. I was looking to build off that going into this year. I was more excited than I’ve ever been going into a year in quite some time. In 10-11 games in, it takes a 180.”

Reilly’s initial read of the group and the culture in the Isles locker room was spot-on. When he spent countless days skating alone, working hard and taking care of his health back home, his teammates would constantly check up on him.

There wasn’t a moment he was forgotten.

“My teammates have been great,” Reilly said. “I haven’t been able to travel this year, so this is basically my first road trip. It’s tough when you can’t travel with the team… there were some spurts where I’d be the only guy back, which is tough. But as soon as they’d get back from the trip, they’d be checking in to see how I’m doing, making me feel a part of it.”

He also had strong support from his family too, as well as from the fanbase.

“My parents came to visit, my brothers and sisters, those things meant a lot. A lot of fans reached out, I’m very grateful for that.”