New York Islanders: Landing Dmytro Timashov is a no-risk move
A reunion with Timashov is a no brainer for Lamoriello and the New York Islanders.
After 60 days without a single trade, the NHL transaction wires came alive once more, as the New York Islanders acquired forward Dmytro Timashov from the Detroit Redwings for ‘future considerations.’
Kind of underwhelming? I mean, yeah, we’re talking about flipping a 24-year-old Ukrainian forward on his third team in 12 months for a pick so inconsequential that it hasn’t even been specified yet, but hey, at this point, what do you want? A Connor McDavid for Sidney Crosby trade that changes the NHL forever? Sometimes you have to take what you’re given and appreciate it for what it is.
Measuring in at 5-foot-10, 192 pounds, Timashov is a young player with average-ish upside. He played 39 games for the Toronto Mape Leafs in 2019-20 – scoring nine points in 8:06 ATOI – before being waived and claimed by Detroit the very next day.
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While, at least in theory, Timashov made sense on the Red Wings’ roster, as he was under contract through the remainder of the year and had some upside as a bottom-six hitting wing – it, unfortunately, just wasn’t meant to be. Despite seeing a notable uptick in ATOI in Detroit, Timashov only appeared in five games before the season shut down and quickly became expendable after offseason additions like Bobby Ryan and Vladislav Namestnikov.
For the price of ‘future considerations,’ the Islanders were able to land Timashov’s RFA right and can conceivably sign him to a new contract for 2020-21, maybe even longer.
An initial draftee of Lou Lamoriello from back in his time helming the Toronto Maple Leafs, there’s an obvious connection between Timashov and the Islanders that could be fruitful moving forward. There’s also a spot for the Ukrainian native to actually make the Islanders roster too, if he can prove a viable auxiliary left-handed wing – assuming, of course, he can beat out former first-round picks Oliver Wahlstrom and Kieffer Bellows for one-two available bottom of the roster spot(s).
And hey, if things don’t work out, it’s not like the Islanders will be out all too much, as ‘future considerations’ likely fall closer to a seventh-round pick than a first-rounder – effectively taking away any potential risk associated with trading for an unproven RFA.
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So for the price of an unnamed but (probably) low draft pick, the New York Islanders broke the NHL’s trade drought and landed a 24-year-old forward who averaged 2.11 hits per game and was scouted pretty extensively by the team’s GM during his time in Toronto. Even if Dmytro Timashov fails to latch on or is relegated to a deep-reserve position in 2020-21, his addition is pretty no-risk in the grand scheme of things.