10:39 a.m.: The Islanders have informed Palmieri he won’t be traded today, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. They’ll continue working on a deal, and although it may not be done before the deadline, they’re close enough to rule out a move. It’s likely to be a two-year or three-year deal worth less than his current $5MM AAV annually, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.
9:37 a.m.: While the Islanders moved their top pending UFA late on Thursday when they dealt Brock Nelson to Colorado, it doesn’t mean the same fate is coming for their other veteran in the same situation. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that they’ve offered a two-year contract extension to winger Kyle Palmieri. If an agreement can’t be reached, then the veteran is expected to be moved before today’s 2 PM CT deadline.
The 34-year-old is in the final season of a contract that carries a $5MM cap charge. If he winds up being dealt, it’s quite likely that New York will need to retain the maximum of 50% to help facilitate a move, similar to what they did with Nelson.
After a couple of underwhelming seasons to start his tenure with the Isles, Palmieri has rebounded nicely over the last couple of years. Last season, he bounced back with a 30-goal effort, matching his career high from back in 2015-16 while coming three points shy of matching his benchmark in points, also from the 2015-16 campaign.
While Palmieri isn’t producing at quite the same level this year, he still has 20 goals and 21 assists in 61 games, giving him a shot at another 50-point season. He’s the type of player who would fit in well on the second line of a lot of contending teams so even if he’s swapped, he still should have a chance at logging close to the 18:13 of ice time he’s getting with New York.
With the pending increase to the salary cap and his production over the last couple of years, Palmieri should be in line for a raise on his current price tag. But a two-year offer might not be long enough to his liking as it’s quite possible that he could get a longer offer if he goes to the open market in July. We’ll soon see if New York’s offer is good enough to get something done or if he’ll be on the move over the next few hours. If they pivot toward moving him, Palmieri does have a 16-team no-trade clause that could come into play.