3 players the New York Islanders should trade after playoff exit

Even after making it to the Eastern Conference Final, the New York Islanders will need to make some changes.

The New York Islanders had a successful season, all things considered. They made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final before simply becoming too banged up to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders took a huge step forward this season, without a doubt.

That said, this offseason is going to require them to make some changes. The flat salary cap ceiling for next season is hurting a lot of teams and the New York Islanders are not exempt. Though they already have 20 players signed for next season, they have less than $9 million of cap space to re-sign some key free agents.

$9 million might not even be enough to re-sign star center Mathew Barzal, especially if the Islanders want to sign him to a long-term deal. They also must sign defensemen Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews to new contracts.

According to Evolving Hockey, here are their contract projections.

• Barzal: $9.581 million per year for eight years
• Pulock: $6.449 million per year for five years
• Toews: $4.762 million per year for four years

That’s roughly $20 million.

The Islanders also need to consider if they want to re-sign Matt Martin, who was a key part of their fourth line this postseason. Same with Tom Kuhnhackl and Derick Brassard. On top of all of that, they should probably start thinking about Anthony Beauvillier’s next contract. His current one expires after the 2020-21 season.

If the Islanders want to sustain their success, they’ll have to make some very tough decisions this offseason. It’s likely they’ll have to trade some very good players. Maybe the pandemic will make free agents be willing to sign for cheaper. That would certainly help the Islanders. But right now, it’s hard to see how they’ll re-sign three of their best players without moving out some salary.

Here are three players the Islanders might need to trade this offseason.