The NHL season returns from the All-Star Break with the New York Islanders facing the team that hosted the 2024 All-Star Game, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on Monday night. Both teams stumbled into the break and are middling in the standings, so they will be looking to improve their position in the Eastern Conference.
Related: Lamoriello vs. Treliving: Similar Needs But Different Approaches
The Islanders and Maple Leafs don’t seem like ideal trade partners, but recent history suggests otherwise. Last season, the Islanders acquired Pierre Engvall at the deadline in a move that gave them a reliable top-six scorer, while the Maple Leafs opened up salary cap space in the process. Engvall has struggled this season, but the move suggests that these two front offices are comfortable with each other.
To be fair, that trade happened with Kyle Dubas as the Maple Leafs general manager (GM), and we know less about new GM Brad Treliving and how he’ll operate. Additionally, it’s unlikely Treviling will go all-in on a roster that doesn’t look like it will make a deep playoff run. The Maple Leafs are good, but they’re fourth in the Atlantic and not set up to overpower their division rivals. That said, if the right offer is on the table that could benefit both teams, a trade with the Islanders could happen.
Brock Nelson in a Blockbuster
Brock Nelson is the Islanders’ best trade asset. Any retool or roster reset starts with him, as he would field the biggest return, especially if he’s moved ahead of the trade deadline. Nelson has a team-leading 21 goals, and after scoring 36 goals or more in each of the last two seasons, he should be able to net the Islanders a few prospects or draft selections in the first round.
The Maple Leafs don’t have a lot of assets and won’t provide the Islanders with the best offer for Nelson. They also lack the salary cap space to keep him and his $6 million average annual value (AAV) without another team taking on some salary. That said, Treliving should be willing to add Nelson for the right price – his contract expires after next season, so he would not be a rental. A move for the veteran would help them contend this season and have a reliable center next season as well.
Nelson is the type of player the Maple Leafs need for a Stanley Cup run. They have a great top six, led by Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, who recently signed an eight-year extension, but they have struggled up the middle. Nelson would not only fill that void, a necessary one for a team to succeed in the playoffs, but he’s also a versatile scorer who can set up other skaters for scoring chances and find the back of the net himself.
He’s one of the faces of the Islanders’ franchise, and it makes him a tough player for GM Lou Lamoriello to move on from unless he’s convinced that the team needs a reset, and a trade can provide that. However, the message this trade would send to the roster and the fanbase is that the Islanders aren’t staring at a short-term reset and have to consider a long-term retool and possibly a rebuild.
A Nelson deal requires many dominoes to fall and a lot must go right for the Islanders and the Maple Leafs to make it happen. However, the Islanders could offer another veteran that would make more sense for both teams.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau in a Minor Deal
A Jean-Gabriel Pageau trade would help out both teams. Like Nelson, Pageau isn’t a rental – his six-year contract expires after the 2025-26 season. Pageau would help round out the Maple Leafs roster, and this trade would help the Islanders reset their lineup without tearing it down. The 31-year-old isn’t the same dynamic player he used to be, but he would have a valuable role on a contending team. The Islanders aren’t contenders at the moment and need to get some value for him while they still can.
He’s a third-line center who, despite losing a step, is a reliable passer, with 14 assists this season and 20 assists or more in each of the last two. On top of that, Pageau is a great defensive center who is one of the top penalty-killing forwards on the Islanders. He would fill a lot of holes on the Maple Leafs and should be capable of doing so until his contract expires.
However, acquiring Pageau presents a similar problem to Nelson: his cap hit. With a $5 million AAV, he would require either the Islanders to retain some salary or a third team would need to be involved in the trade. Moreover, Pageau has been seen as damaged goods at 31 years old and not worth adding at this point in his career. Ultimately, it makes him a player Lamoriello would trade for a minor return but one that would help set up the roster for long-term success. Moving him to a contender in exchange for a third-round draft selection will do just that.
Lamoriello Moves on From Wahlstrom
The Oliver Wahlstrom experiment is on its last legs. He’s back in the lineup, and with Patrick Roy as head coach, he’ll have a chance to prove himself. So far, he’s failed to do that. The Islanders signed him to a one-year deal in the 2023 offseason hoping he’d emerge as a reliable scorer, but he’s struggled to find a role in the lineup and only has two goals and four assists in 23 games. He needs a change of scenery on a team that would allow the 23-year-old winger to thrive.
The Maple Leafs can acquire Wahlstrom and turn him into a lethal scorer on the wing. This season doesn’t reflect his ability, as he has a great shot and with the right passer beside him could be a consistent 20-goal scorer. It wasn’t long ago that Wahlstrom scored 12 goals in 44 games, playing a significant role in the 56-game 2020-21 season. The Maple Leafs could bring that out of him, especially if he plays alongside a playmaker like Marner.
The Islanders might hope to receive a lot in return for their 2018 first-round selection, but it’s not going to happen. They’ll end up fielding a mid-round pick or two, but not a first or second-round selection. If the team continues to struggle, it should be an easy decision for Lamoriello to help the rebuild take shape.
Other Trades the Islanders & Maple Leafs Can Make
If the Islanders are staring at an inevitable rebuild, Lamoriello will likely move Cal Clutterbuck as the veteran fourth-line winger is playing in the final season of his contract. Despite being one of the oldest skaters in the league at 36, he’s still playing at a high level and adds a hard-hitting, physical, and defensive presence to the forward unit. The Maple Leafs struggled in the Second Round of last year’s playoffs against the physicality of the Florida Panthers and ultimately lost the series in five games. Clutterbuck would help them fill that void, adding a checking presence to the fourth line.
Conversely, if the Maple Leafs don’t want to go all-in, they will look to move Tyler Bertuzzi or Max Domi, both unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. The Islanders’ prospect pool is one of the worst in the league, but they have a handful of prospects they could move to add either forward in a deal. Bertuzzi has a no-movement clause, but Domi is a realistic target and many contending teams will look to add him before the deadline, considering he scored three goals and 10 assists for the Dallas Stars in their 2023 playoff run.
Is there a trade you think is realistic between the two teams? Let us know in the comments section below.
