A few days ago, I got a request from a reader to come up with a few trade ideas for the Islanders to finally add a top-line forward. Taking a break from player profiles, here's my breakdown on whether the Islanders could add a star forward through a trade.
I’ll start off by saying this was very difficult. If we’re basing trade ideas solely off players deemed to be available, I don’t know of a single top-line winger New York could go after. Of TSN’s Trade Bait Board prior to the deadline, I didn’t see a single true top-line talent listed.
To make a trade, the Islanders would need to find a team in transition who could benefit by getting either futures back or swapping roster players. For example, Boston may have three stars up front in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak but it makes no sense at all for them to move any of them because they’re a contending team and New York wouldn’t have the immediate assets to give back something that keeps the team contending. Then there’s also the dilemma that some teams, like Ottawa, wouldn’t even have top-line talent available, even if they were in transition.
Lastly, the Islanders would struggle to make a one-for-one trade to acquire a top-line player that doesn’t come with any downside. The reasoning here is that teams, for the most part, would only move top-line talent if they’re rebuilding, if the player isn't a fit with the team or if they’re trying to fill a position of need. The Islanders can’t really make many moves that are one-for-one, getting a top-line forward for a defenseman, without involving someone like Ryan Pulock, which would be a massive blow to New York’s defense and a move they’re likely not willing to make.
An example of this is with Nikolaj Ehlers, who some speculated could be used as a trade chip for Winnipeg to add a defenseman. While the Islanders have pieces on defense that could help the Jets, none are worth Ehlers as a return (Nick Leddy doesn’t cut it) and adding other picks/prospects on top of just a decent defenseman isn’t what the Jets need right now to compete. They need a top defenseman and the Islanders don’t have any that they’d be willing to move. They could potentially swing a deal to send a defenseman to Winnipeg for help up front but they’re not getting someone like Ehlers, or another top forward, back in return.
So here are the ideas that I went with:
OPTION #1: Phil Kessel
Kessel had a poor first season in Arizona but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s done as a top player in the league.
We saw what a return for Kessel would look like last summer and his value has certainly dropped since moving to Arizona. I don’t know if the Coyotes would be willing to move him or would prefer to bet on him bouncing back but it could be worth taking a risk on him.
Kessel is 32 years old but has just two years remaining on his deal at $6.8M per season and though he was only on pace for 45 points this season, he is just a year removed from an 82-point year.
Arizona is in a spot where they loaded up, trading for Taylor Hall and it backfired. I’m not sure what their plan is from here but assuming Hall walks in free agency, they could look to move Kessel after he wasn't a fit for them this season. Last offseason, he was traded for Alex Galchenyuk and prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph and his value is quite a bit lower now. Here’s my idea:
TO NEW YORK:
- Phil Kessel
TO ARIZONA:
- Josh Bailey
- 2nd Round Pick
In this, it all depends what the Coyotes’ stance on Kessel is right now. If they’re optimistic about his chances of having a bounce-back year, they certainly wouldn’t take this deal. If his decline in production this year scared them, however, they may want to offload him for a different asset who can help right now and comes at a lower cost. An issue here though: Kessel has an eight-team trade list and if the Islanders aren’t on it, he’d have to waive the clause to be traded to New York.
Arizona would get back a top-six forward in Bailey who’s two years younger than Kessel and is good for 50 points a year. It would also save them almost $2M in cap space and they can use the cap space and the pick to shop elsewhere for a different addition.
To me, this would be a deal worth making for the Islanders, if it was ever an option. If Kessel bounces back, they have a legitimate first-line winger. If not, he’s only got two years left on his deal and Bailey, though cheap and good for some secondary scoring, is inconsistent himself anyways.
OPTION #2: Nikita Gusev
Okay, so Gusev didn’t play first-line minutes this year but I think this could be doable and would make sense for the Islanders.
He’s turning 28 years old this July and he’s able to hit the free agency market in 2021. With New Jersey not in a very competitive position right now, if it becomes clear Gusev won’t re-sign, there’s a great chance they look to move him to continue to build for the future. Gusev was on pace for 55 points this year but if you take out his first 15 games of the year, which you can attribute to an adjustment period, he scored at a pace of 61 points per 82. Remember, this is in his first NHL season, and his production came while being underused, playing a ridiculously low 14:42 per game. His underlying stats were also strong, with the highest corsi for percentage of any player on the Devils.
If the Islanders play Gusev on a line with Barzal and give him a better opportunity, he could likely be a 70-point player. Of course, New York also only makes this deal if Gusev signs an extension.
As for the return, Gusev was moved for a second-round pick and fourth-round pick in the offseason and that’s before he even played an NHL game. I’d imagine something similar to the Pageau deal, should the Devils decide to move Gusev, would be a comparable trade.
TO NEW YORK
- Nikita Gusev
TO NEW JERSEY
- 1st Round Pick
- 2nd Round Pick
OPTION #3: Clear Cap Space and Hit the Market
This is kind of cheating as an option but it’s the one I believe the Islanders should go for: clear cap space and capitalize in the free agent market.
Between Johnny Boychuk, Cal Clutterbuck, Leo Komarov, Andrew Ladd and Matt Martin, the Islanders have over $20 million tied up in bad contracts. That’s an absurd amount of money wasted.
My suggestion? Use some draft picks or other assets to get teams to take on those bad contracts, then take a real swing at a key free agent. Just because it didn’t work with Artemi Panarin, doesn’t mean it won’t work with someone else. The likes of Taylor Hall, Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov are all part of this year’s class. There will be others next year.
To me, this is the best route to go. There are limited trading partners and players who could be acquired through a trade and if the Islanders were able to figure out how to maneuver their cap situation, the only asset being given up would be cap space.
So anyways, that’s my article. It was long but hopefully you enjoyed it. Feel free to comment with some of your own trade suggestions!
Here’s today’s poll (results and discussion will be discussed tomorrow):
If these trade ideas were an option, which do you go for?
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»