Trades are putting old friends in ugly new clothes.
Trade action around the NHL picked up over the weekend, though not for the Isles (at least by the time of this posting). As the whole league heads into the Trade Deadline week, the East has at least eight teams fighting for two wild card spots, while the West has at least four and probably five who are out of it completely.
That sets up some different dynamic for would-be sellers and buyers. The Smurfs, tonight’s opponent for the Islanders, are above them in the standings but being realistic about where they are as a franchise. They held Reilly Smith out of last night’s tilt with the Predators for “roster management” purposes — i.e. keeping him healthy in the event they complete a trade — and also sent pending UFAs Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren to the Avalanche for {gasp!} Calvin de Haan (also a UFA), plus a couple of conditional picks and main target Juuso Parssinen, an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment.
The Islanders…might still be trying to sign Brock Nelson? Who knows. But there must be a market for him and Kyle Palmieri, so surely they’ll have some activity this week in one direction or the other.
First Islanders Goal picks for tonight go here.
Islanders News
- Factors Lou Lamoriello must be weighing. [Newsday]
- Mike Reilly took the next step in his rehab by skating with the team. [Post]
- Ilya Sorokin, no puckhandler, he, took a playful jab at Igor Shesterkin for getting an NHL goal before he did. [Post]
- Alex Romanov has been “reliable” in his third season with the Isles. [Isles]
NHL News
Sunday’s NHL scores included a goalfest “messy track meet” among the Devils and Penguins, and the Smurfs brushing Nashville aside.
- So, big trades afoot, with chances for more to come. [TSN]
- Seth Jones gets his wish to escape Chicago for a contender, with the Panthers sending a first and Spencer Knight the other way, while the Blackhawks retain $2.5 million annually from Jones’ crazy $9M AAV. [NHL]
- What a contrast, in how the repeatedly tanking Hawks have gone about things vs. how the Cup champion Panthers have. [Athletic]
- What de Haan (briefly) and Parssinen bring to the Smurfs. [SNY]
- Before the Predators lost to both New Yorks, they dealt UFA Gustav Nyquist to the Wild for a second-round pick. [NHL]
- Four possible destinations for Dylan Cozens. [Sportsnet]
- Filipp Grubauer has been recalled from his AHL purgatory by the Kraken. [TSN]
- Quinn Hughes picked up another injury. [NHL]