New York Islanders: Adam Pelech Extension Crowds Blueline
The Adam Pelech extension gives the New York Islanders a very crowded blue line. How can they fix it?
In the NHL, depth is usually not a terrible thing. However, sometimes having too many players under contract at one position can make things difficult. Such is the case with the New York Islanders and their defensemen.
They recently extended soon to be 23 year old blue liner Adam Pelech for four years with a $1.6 million annual cap hit. The merits of extending a third pairing defenseman for that long is a debate for another article. What matters is the Islanders, assuming they re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Calvin de Haan, will have eight defensemen under contract. And each of the octet requires waivers to be sent down to the AHL. In order to send any of them to the AHL, they’d need to risk losing someone for nothing.
Carrying eight defensemen would force them to carry just one extra forward. In an ideal world, this would be fine. But the 82 game schedule of the NHL is far from ideal. An injury to a forward would be enough to leave the team in a pickle. Luckily, the Islanders have several options for a solution. Let’s review them.
Trade de Haan
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
Depending on the return, this is likely the worst option available. Calvin de Haan is not going to win any Norris Trophies anytime soon, but he’s a quality defenseman. On a team with a lot ofyoung defensemen, he’s one of the few known quantities. While this makes him an obvious trade candidate, getting rid of someone like de Haan isn’t something a Stanley Cup hopeful should do.
Trade Someone Else
This is far more reasonable. The obvious candidates are Thomas Hickey and Dennis Seidenberg, both of whom are unrestricted free agents after the 2017-18 season. While the latter might be hard to move, the former makes more sense. Scott Mayfield, who’s a restricted free agent after the 2017-18 season, would also make sense.
Next: Ranking Each NHL Team's GM
Keep Eight Defensemen
Keeping three goalies didn’t go over so well for the Islanders. So this option is probably not going to be too popular. If the Islanders go this route, they’ll need to manage all eight defensemen properly. And hope nothing comes up that forces them to lose a quality player for nothing.