Islanders Possibilities Entering Draft Week
Islanders rumors are heating up ahead of the NHL Draft, with names like Noah Dobson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Alexander Romanov circulating. Here’s the latest.
The 2025 NHL Draft is just one week away. That means there will be a high volume of news and rumors over the next seven days. Stay safe out there.
I will never break my Free Friday rule, so here’s everything I’ve heard, my thoughts on what’s been reported, and more as we count down to Los Angeles.
Let’s start with Noah Dobson and go from there.
There were reports that Noah Dobson, a pending restricted free agent, and his camp asked for $11M annually. I have a hard time believing that to be true.
I believe the conversation, potentially after his 70-point campaign, started at $10M. I know that Dobson fired his agent on Feb. 12, and usually, you only fire your agent when you want something to get done.
I think that if a deal does get done, it will be between $9M and $9.5M — my guess: $9.15M annually over eight years.
I heard that, at one point this season before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, the Dallas Stars inquired about Dobson, but he was not made available.
I also heard that when the San Jose Sharks were shopping Erik Karlsson, GM Mike Grier called the Islanders with Dobson in mind as a potential return. Again, Dobson wasn’t available.
There was chatter that Dobson could have been involved in a potential deal with the Vancouver Canucks for Elias Pettersson. Vancouver has had their eyes on BC native Mathew Barzal for a while. I think that Vancouver wanted both — a ridiculous ask. Barzal will not be moved, so I don’t think there’s anything to that, at least not anymore.
The expectation is that the Islanders will be selecting defenseman Matthew Schaefer first overall, but I do believe Mathieu Darche has actively explored getting back into the first round in an effort to get James Hagens.
I know he spoke with the Utah Mammoth at the combine. They have the fourth pick. I believe he has spoken to the Boston Bruins, who have the seventh, which is likely the latest landing spot for Hagens.
I’ve been told that there are 4–5 NHL teams looking to move up in the draft to pick three or four to select the Hauppauge native specifically.
As I reported, the Boston Bruins are the latest team to inquire about Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who has one year left on his deal at $5M annually (16-team no-trade).
The Carolina Hurricanes are another team to watch, along with the Montreal Canadiens.
During the season, the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers had inquired, with Edmonton getting closer than any other team — the Islanders wouldn’t retain.
Vegas could still be in play, along with Pageau’s former team, the Ottawa Senators.
I think, if the Islanders are looking to move Pageau, it would be more beneficial for them to hold onto him until the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, as desperate times call for desperate measures.
Alexander Romanov, the 25-year-old RFA, is not being shopped, but his name has come up often as of late.
The Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers have inquired, and I do believe the Utah Mammoth previously inquired around the NHL Combine.
I do not believe the Islanders and Romanov’s camp have had many talks yet, as that’s expected to pick up after the draft. Again, he’s an RFA with arbitration rights.
If the Islanders were to re-sign Romanov — I think they will — the number likely comes in between $5M and $5.5M annually over a 4–to-6–year deal.
The NHL buyout window opens this morning, but I don’t believe we will see Darche buy out Engvall. He has five years left on his deal worth $3M annually — a buyout that would last 10 years at $1M annually.
I do think there’s been some trade exploration to create some additional cap space. Given Engvall’s North-South game, he would fit in well under Rod Brind’Amour in Carolina’s system.
If the Islanders don’t move Engvall, they could start him in Bridgeport like they did this past season, burying $1.15M of the $3M (max allowed to bury), leaving $1.85M on the books.
No, Scott Mayfield will not be bought out. If the Islanders don’t view him as a starter in their lineup and want to move on from the final five years of his deal at $3.5M annually, there will be suitors for a big, right-side, stay-at-home defenseman who kills penalties.
The Islanders could be in the J.J. Peterka sweepstakes if the Buffalo Sabres ultimately move him. Buffalo is looking for a right-side defenseman to pair with lefty Owen Power, so Dobson would likely have to be involved in a potential trade there.
The danger of involving Dobson in any trade is that the Islanders lack RHD depth, especially a defenseman with the potential to score 70 points. Maybe in a week, they will have someone who can mimic that…
The Islanders should certainly look to offer sheet Dallas Stars 23-year-old centerman Mavrik Bourque. After re-signing Matt Duchene to a four-year extension worth $4.5M, they still need to shed more cap space to keep Mikael Granlund and sign Jason Robertson to an extension.
I believe Bourque would have been involved in a potential trade involving Brock Nelson if a deal between the two teams had been finalized.
Bourque played wing this year at times, and I think, given the Islanders’ center depth and a lack of wingers, he could be a young answer, maybe flanking Barzal or Calum Ritchie, a player that would fit the retool perfectly.
More on this coming in The Hockey News later today.
Speaking of center depth, I am curious to see what happens with Casey Cizikas. He is one of the only Islanders without trade protection and has two years left at $2.5M annually.
It’s been pretty quiet on potential Bridgeport Islanders head coaches — Matt Carkner being the latest name to come up, but Chris Lamoriello fired him once upon a time, so I don’t think he’ll be back with Chris still Bridgeport’s GM.
I’d keep an eye on Ian Laperrière. He’s currently a hockey operations advisor for the Philadelphia Flyers after head coaching Lehigh for four years. But The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz said he’d leave that role to get behind a bench somewhere.
I think that’s all I got for ya today. I’ll be in LA for the NHL Draft, and, as always, I’ll provide updates when they become available.
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All good news on the updates!!!! Especially Romanov, you don’t trade that young man if a Stanley Cup is your goal in the future. Dobson and Romanov are your base on the backend, their best is yet to come. Being healthy, confidence, and increased strength training is the ticket for both to maximize their potential. The more we move forward the less I think Marner is in play for the Islanders. Not a shocker! Too bad it would be great for now and the future. Maybe Darche thinks Marner’s numbers are inflated to some degree playing with Papi. How teams view Marner is going to be interesting. It’s possible he is a very good versatile two way 60 point player outside Toronto (Bo Horvat Type).Or he is a great versatile two way 40 plus goal scorer and an 85 pt player outside of Toronto. I take the gamble at 13.5x7 the risk is low, cap is going up and you at least have a Bo Horvat most likely more without moving assets. The best possible option to clear space is to move JG, Mayfield, and DuClair. Outside of JG which seems out the door already. The other two might be difficult to move contract wise NTC and AAV. I’m not too keen on the team running it back again, but it’s shaping up to be another year of transition. Trying to compete and at the same time moving contracts and house keeping. They may not say it but they maybe looking at 2026 -2027. The old saying patience is a virtue, might be the best long range plan. Tough to watch the past four years of Islanders hockey. Maybe Darche has something up his sleeve. At this point Draft Matthew Schaefer and grab a team’s #2 for Pager, and have productive rest of draft. Maybe Kirill Kaprizov next year along with the influx of young talent is the proper plan. Give me as many talented Russians on this team as possible. He is a pure scorer that is without question. In saying that maybe he stays in Minnesota. So many moving pieces thats what’s fun about playing GM. Can Darche build a Cup Winner that’s really what it comes down to. The wingers are the Achilles heel of this team, we need two maybe three top shelf ones over the next two years.