Rumor: 4 Islanders that could be traded this summer.
NHL insider names his candidates.
The New York Islanders are coming off of a disappointing season but it is one that many will write off as one that was heavily impacted by the combination of a lengthy road trip and the team being hit hard by Covid, leaving many questions about what direction the team will head in next.
The normally secretive Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has already hinted at the fact that there may be some hockey trades forthcoming from the team in the future, but as to who might or might not be included on that list no one but Lamoriello himself probably knows. On Monday, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman shared his thoughts on the matter and revealed the players he believes might be interesting trading chips come the rapidly approaching offseason for the Islanders.
"I'll tell you this, the names that stand out to me for hockey trades, Varlamov, Bailey.... I wonder about a guy like Wahlstrom, he's still young he's 21 years old," said Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. "I don't like to give up on young players but I'm sure there's somebody else out there who might look at it and say hey if the Islanders don't believe in him we might."
In the case of goaltender Semyon Varlamov, Friedman stated that he believes having 2 good goalies is a nice problem to have. That being said he also admitted that the veteran netminder made an interesting trading chip given the emergence of Ilya Sorokin this season for the Islanders.
"He's a good goalie, you can get something for him," said Friedman of Varlamov.
In the case of long time Islanders forward Josh Bailey, Friedman indicated that his tenure with the club might buy him some time.
"You know Bailey.... the thing with him is he's an Islanders," said Friedman. "Do they look at him and say fluke year? Everybody gets a reset."
Friedman would also add another name to his list, far and away the biggest name he would drop during the course of the conversation. Friedman also included Mathew Barzal given his current contract status with the organization.
"I'm not saying that Mathew Barzal is getting traded but the thing is he's coming into the last year of his deal and then it's time right?" asked Friedman. "Him and you have to decide. I'm just curious do the Islanders worry about this at all? Do they have any reason to believe or not believe that Barzal is going to be a long term Islander."
"The only reason I talk about Barzal is just because of contract, and are they worried about it at all?" asked Friedman.
Not only does a trade of Barzal seem unlikely due to simply how difficult of a player he would be to replace for the Islanders, but he's also coming off arguably the worst season of his career in the National Hockey League so you would be selling low as well. That being said if Friedman has included him on the list, it may be a situation worth monitoring.
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