Islanders Mailbag: Will Anyone Be Traded? Free Agency, Prospects & Big Decisions Ahead
Will the Islanders make a trade? A full mailbag on free agency, prospects and the biggest decisions ahead this offseason.
With the season now in the rearview, Free Friday is shifting into offseason mode—with a weekly New York Islanders mailbag where your questions take center stage.
And don’t get it twisted: just because the games have stopped doesn’t mean things are slowing down here.
From exclusive interviews and insider intel to in-depth columns and behind-the-scenes access, The Elmonters isn’t going anywhere—keeping that Islanders pulse alive all summer long.
Enjoy the first of many Islanders offseason mailbags:
With DeBoer saying he sees Barzal and Ritchie as centers, do you see one of the centers getting traded, and who? @Dschmuck72
Rosner: Center ice is indeed crowded. You’ve heard the cliché: You can never have too many centers, and it’s easier to go from center to wing than wing to center. I actually don’t see any center being moved. Contrary to popular belief, Barzal (22-team no-trade clause) isn’t going anywhere. Jean-Gabriel Pageau signed a three-year extension on March 6. The one center who has no trade protection is Casey Cizikas, who has one season left ($2.5M AAV), but I don’t think there’s a market for him. He’s more valuable to the Islanders than to another team.
Now, just because Barzal and Ritchie said they’re centers doesn’t mean that’s where they line up come opening night. I do think you will see Brayden Schenn move to the wing full-time, as that’s where he’s best at this point in his career. Both Barzal (39.8%) and Ritchie (36.8%) also made it clear how much they have to work on faceoffs this summer, which is another reason the “center” spot is anything but certain. Yes, centers don’t have to take the faceoff, but that method only works if another center—or some other player who is elite in the dot—is on their line.
Do you expect any buyouts? @Ryan_Selover
Rosner: This is certainly something to watch, Ryan. The first buyout window opens 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final concludes or on June 15, whichever is later. It closes on June 30 at 5 p.m. ET. A second buyout window can open in July for teams with eligible salary arbitration cases. The Islanders certainly have buyout candidates, but you have to consider the years on a buyout, whether it makes sense to go that route, and whether the player can be moved without giving up any assets.
When it comes to Anthony Duclair, I don’t think a buyout makes sense. He has two seasons left ($3.5M AAV), but his full no-trade clause turns into a 16-team no-trade clause on July 1. There are flaws in his game, but he’s fast and can score, and I’m sure he’d be open to a change of scenery.
It also doesn’t make sense to buy out the remaining four years of Pierre Engvall’s deal ($3M AAV), especially when $1.15M can be buried in the minors. I don’t believe Scott Mayfield, who has four seasons left ($3.5M AAV), is being bought out either.
Ondrej Palat is the interesting one. While Darche showed loyalty to the grizzled veteran when he acquired him from the New Jersey Devils, Palat struggled in the Islanders’ lineup, eventually being scratched in a must-win game that the Islanders lost. He has one more season left ($6M AAV), and there is no way to move on from him without attaching a pick, as New Jersey did. A buyout makes sense here if he’s not going to be playing on the club’s fourth line this fall.
Do you believe there will be major changes to the current roster? (Changes in the top 6 F or top D pairings). Or will there be minor bottom/depth pairing changes? @bryshark11
Rosner: It’s hard to make major changes when the majority of players are locked in long-term. Of course, the goal is to add a goal-scoring forward—the goal for seemingly every team, especially every franchise that didn’t qualify for the playoffs. The Islanders do lack right-sided depth on their blue line, whether pending UFA Tony DeAngelo comes back or not. Unless Darche can make a big splash and land a big fish on the trade market, I would guess the changes will come to the bottom six and potentially the Islanders’ blue line.
Which prospects do you believe have a chance to make the team next year @lostsin44
Rosner: The only prospect I see making the team this fall is Victor Eklund, whom the Islanders selected 16th overall in 2025. He looked really strong after coming over from the SHL before shining in his NHL debut. With Bridgeport’s season now over, he’ll have to bulk up, but I said it when he was playing in the SHL this season and again when he got to North America: I think he can jump into an everyday NHL role right now. There’s no reason he can’t be in the top nine, let alone the top six.
I do have a dark horse to make the team, and that’s depth forward Daylan Kuefler (2022, Rd. 6), who, after battling health problems the last two seasons, really shone this season in Bridgeport in a spark-plug role, which is always needed at the NHL level. He is a pending RFA with arbitration rights.
I got one for you. It seems to me that finding an RHD who can move the puck to pair with Romanov should be high on the off-season list. Do you agree & do you have any ideas? Not talking about DeAngelo, who I can see on the 3rd pair with George (Pelech Trade Coming?) @TheNLKing
Rosner: I’m not going to sit here and say that the Islanders won’t offer Darren Raddysh a contract, given Darche’s connection with the current Tampa Bay Lightning blueliner. However, he is the top defenseman on the market after a breakout season, and if Tampa doesn’t retain him, I could see the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the sweepstakes, given their desperate need for a defender, especially with Morgan Rielly likely being moved, with three more seasons left on his deal ($7.5M AAV).
I do believe DeAngelo will be back in blue and orange for the next few seasons, and I know that he and Alexander Romanov didn’t have great chemistry early this season before Romanov’s injury. But I do think it’s worth another shot. Romanov was not signed to an eight-year extension ($6.2M AAV) last summer to be a bottom-pairing defenseman.
Now, with how high the organization is on Isaiah George and how good of a season a healthy Adam Pelech had, if a trade is made, I could see No. 3 on his way out. He has three seasons left on his deal at $5.75M AAV, with a 16-team modified no-trade clause. Selling him now, when his value is as high as it’s likely to be, and letting George be an everyday defenseman—someone who can skate and move the puck—may be the big move in the cards. Does Pelech bring you back a forward? That’s the question, because if so, that would help the Islanders immensely.
Any sneaky FA adds you could see Darche making to the forward group? @RJNYY0
Rosner: One name that sticks out, if the Islanders are trying to get grittier, is Columbus Blue Jackets pending UFA Mason Marchment. He just concluded a four-year deal ($4.5M AAV). I know he got into it with the Islanders for taking out Schaefer, leading to Mathew Barzal giving him a slash on the laces that got him ejected, but Marchment did play for DeBoer in Dallas.
Another name is Calgary Flames forward Ryan Lomberg, who just finished the second season of a two-year deal ($2M AAV).
This is a dark assessment of the off season. I think Darche will be more active. The 13 pick is there. If they miraculously win lottery and move up to 3, RHD Reid is there. He is more or less a right handed Scheafer. If not St Louis would be interested in that 13th pick. Swapping 13 for Kyrou makes sense for both teams. Kyrou is a buy low at this point, and he has a high upside. You just can’t run it back again. Lee cannot be resigned it’s blatantly obvious the room needs fresh leadership! To me DuClair needs to be bought out. He has done Zero! Palat can stay in a fourth line role. Players should be moved or buried in the minors. Eklund and George are regulars in the lineup next year. Pelech being traded or moved to off side is another good possibility. Backup Goaltending is a huge issue, until we can get Gazmin over here!