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.
3. Kieffer Bellows
Before Islanders fans break out their torches and pitchforks, let me explain myself. Yes, I think Kieffer Bellows is a pretty good player. He impressed me in a cup of coffee in the NHL this season, putting up three points in eight regular season games. At just 22 years old, Bellows still has room to grow.
Now, with that said, there’s a saying. In the NHL, if you want to get something, you’ve got to give up something. If the Islanders want to upgrade their roster, they’re going to have to give up something teams want. Bellows is someone who other teams are going to want.
And let’s be honest, it’s clear the Islanders don’t value Bellows as much as their fanbase does. Why wasn’t he even a part of the group that went to the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles? If the Islanders believed in Bellows, he’d have been there. But he wasn’t there.
Personally, I think the Islanders will keep Bellows. But if they want to upgrade their roster by trading for a goal scorer, they’ll have to give up something good and, again, I think Bellows is the guy teams would want. If the Islanders try to do the impossible and trade Andrew Ladd, I’d be surprised if the other team doesn’t ask for Bellows.
I like Bellows quite a bit, but the writing’s on the wall. It wouldn’t completely surprise me if the Islanders keep him around, but him not even being in the postseason bubbles says a lot about how the Isles view him as a player.
2. Leo Komarov
Currently, the New York Islanders bottom six forward group is a tad bit crowded. They’ve already got Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Andrew Ladd (good luck trading him), Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck, Ross Johnston, Leo Komarov, and Michael Dal Colle. I believe the New York Islanders will re-sign Matt Martin. If they do, that leaves eight forwards for six spots in the lineup.
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Pageau’s not going anywhere. Neither is Ladd because he’s not movable. Cizikas is the heartbeat of the Islanders, so he’s not getting traded. Clutterbuck is a key player for Trotz, so he’s probably not going anywhere. Johnston and Dal Colle are expendable, but the Islanders aren’t clearing much space if they get rid of either of them, or even both of them.
That leaves Leo Komarov as the odd man out. He has two years left on his contract with a $3 million annual cap hit. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Komarov averaged 10:20 of ice time at 5v5 per game, which ranked second-to-last among forwards who played in at least 10 games. Only Brassard (9:27) averaged fewer minutes on the ice.
On paper, that $3 million cap hit is a huge yikes. But he’s only due $4.5 million in salary, which could make him attractive to teams like the Ottawa Senators who are trying to get to the cap floor. The Islanders will probably have to include someone else in the trade to persuade another team to take him, but trading him would prevent the bottom six from getting too clogged up.
1. Nick Leddy
Nick Leddy is still a pretty darn good defenseman. He’s very useful and would be an upgrade for a lot of teams in their core of top-four defensemen. However, the New York Islanders might not have a choice. They might have to trade him simply because of his $5.5 million cap hit.
Trading Komarov would clear $3 million. That’s certainly helpful, but it’s not enough to give the Islanders a comfortable cushion to re-sign Barzal, Toews, and Pulock, along with making any other improvements they see fit. Getting Leddy’s $5.5 million cap hit off the books would go a long way to helping them improve.
As good as Leddy is, the Islanders already have some potential replacements. Toews would likely be the guy who gets a promotion to the second line. Yes, he had a very rough postseason. But this doesn’t change the fact that Toews is a pretty solid defenseman. Unless the Islanders can find a way to get rid of Ladd or Johnny Boychuk (both have a modified no-trade clause), Leddy’s the guy standing without a chair to be found.
Next. Top 5 Trade Candidates This Offseason. dark
Welcome to the world of the salary cap, Islanders fans. It freaking sucks. The cap is evil. It forces teams to get rid of players who fans love like Leddy. But at the same time, this also means the Islanders have arrived as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. It’s a double-edged sword.