Islanders Trade Deadline Wrap: Reaction From Room, Thomas Hickey & Mike Rupp Interviews
The NHL Trade Deadline came and went and the Islanders parted ways with a long-time staple.
The New York Islanders made two trades before Friday’s 3 PM Trade Deadline.
The first was big, sending long-time Islanders forward Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche.
Here’s the full trade:
To NYI: F Calum Ritchie, 2026 or 2027 1st, 2028 conditional 3rd, D Oliver Kylington
TO COL: F Brock Nelson, F William Dufour
The Islanders quickly flipped Kylington to the Anaheim Ducks for future considerations.
Ritchie, drafted 27th overall by Colorado in 2023, is in his final season in the OHL after getting a seven-game look at the NHL level. He has one NHL goal to his name, which came against Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin.
He is expected to fight for a roster spot next season.
Regarding the draft-pick conditions:
If the Avalanche's upcoming first-round pick is in the top 10 of the draft, Colorado keeps it, sending their 2026 first-rounder to Philadelphia, leaving the Islanders with the 2027 first However, if the Avalanche's pick is not in the top 10—and it's looking like that will be the case—the Islanders would get their 2026 first. To receive the third-rounder, the Avalanche must win the Stanley Cup this year and Nelson must play in at least half of their playoff games.
Former Islanders defenseman and MSG analyst Thomas Hickey joined me to talk about the trade & more.
The Islanders made a minor trade, which officially came in after the 3 PM deadline. They sent defenseman Dennis Cholowski to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Adam Beckman.
Beckman has 23 games of NHL experience, all with the Minnesota Wild, with three assists. He has 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 43 games for Utica, the Devils’ AHL affiliate.
The Islanders didn’t make any moves outside of those two. But there is other news.
Forward Kyle Palmieri and the Islanders are inching closer to a contract extension. The two- to three-year deal is expected to be worth between $4-$5 million annually.
“Obviously, stressful week, but ultimately, my focus hasn't changed. I want to be here, and I want to be fighting for a playoff spot with these guys,” Palmieri said. “I think it's actually a lot easier when you're playing games, but the last couple of days of waiting and hanging out here were tough. But I'm focused and excited on the opportunity this group has”
Palmieri had this to say about extension talks: “That's the hope. I know my agent, and Lou have been talking so, like I said, this is where I want to be and I'm excited to go through this challenge of getting ourselves into the playoffs with these guys.”
Former NHLer turned analyst also joined me to break down the Islanders’ decision to hold onto Palmieri and more (click on picture to get to interview):
Rupp & Rosner Trade Deadline Chat:
Here’s reactions from the Islanders room on Nelson’s departure:
Kyle Palmieri: “It's tough. I mean, you play a long time. There's not too many guys you spend a lot of time with as line mates. Especially for me, in my career, I haven't had someone as steady and for our group, he's a great player, a great teammate and a leader. So it's tough to see a guy like that go, but I think the message in here is it's an opportunity for someone to step up and be a leader and take over the things that we relied on with Nelly, and we wish him nothing but the best.”
Anders Lee: “Brock has a presence in this room and has been a true Islander for his entire career here, so when someone like that isn’t in the room the following day, we’re not going to be able to replace his presence. I think my initial reaction had a to do greatly with our team, but a lot with a friendship, I think, so that was part of the business and not the most exciting thing to hear, but, look, I said it before, I got a lot of love from Brock and his family, and I’m behind him 100% on him doing what’s best for them and himself. I thought he handled this whole situation with a ton of class and couldn’t be happier for him moving forward, but I guess on a personal level, it’s a bummer he’s not here.”
Noah Dobson: “I love Brock. He was one of my closer buddies on the team. We spent a lot of time together, dinners, all the time, on the road. Just a great person off the ice, obviously on the ice speaks for itself. Great player, big part of this team, so it's unfortunate. It's part of the business that sucks, sad day, obviously, but wish him nothing but the best in Colorado, and obviously us as a team, we need to kind of come together as a group and kind of move past it and get ready to get back in action tomorrow night.”
Casey Cizikas: “It's not easy. It's a business we're in. It's kind of the shitty part of what we do. We've been together for 12-13 years. We pretty much grew up together. Our sons play on the same team, they've grown up together, and you don't get too many opportunities to play with guys that long and kind of create that bond. And we've done that with a lot of guys in this dressing room. So it's not easy. If I'm being truthful, it sucks. But at the same time, we have something that we want to accomplish as a group. And we're right in the thick of this race. We believe in ourselves in this dressing room, that we can get it done. And it starts tomorrow night.”
Patrick Roy: “It's always tough to see that. It's a business, so it's part of the game, and things like this happen. Right now, it's to find a way to rally, have a good push, and surprise everybody. It gives an opportunity to other guys to step up and take advantage of the situation and try to find a way to make the playoffs. We're gonna need everybody. There's no doubt about it. It's gonna have to be a team effort. So everybody's gonna have to play a role.”
The Islanders, who sit four points out of a wild-card spot, will continue their push on Saturday night at 10 PM ET when they battle the San Jose Sharks for the first of three games in California.
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Mitch Marner has been treated like crap by the Leafs. He should never sign with Toronto, they have disrespected this guy so many times. Doubt the Islanders would be a player in his free agency, but Lou should try. Plus Toronto is never going to win in the playoffs, they are a show time team. They don’t play playoff hockey and Mitch should know that.
The only positive on this team will come down to Patrick digging his spurs into this team. Outside of Horvat Lee Plameri Homstrom JG Romanov Pelech, the rest have underperformed drastically. Can Patrick challenge the manhood of the rest of the team, and get them to play inspired and up to their highest level. We will find the answer out immediately you have to win both against the Sharks and Ducks. Ritchie, Eiserman, and D. Nelson are closer than a lot of people think. Infuse them into the lineup asap next year or if you get in the playoffs. D. Nelson is ready physically and I don’t see a long stay in college for Mr. Eiserman. Can they still make the playoffs, of course! None of these other teams are taking advantage, and surprisingly the Devils are leaking oil and sinking back. The islanders have a track history of making runs at the end. It’s an opportunity for guys to save their season, and some like Dobson to make a statement for the next contract. Yes, B. Nelson is gone but they can compete if they raise their defensive focus. Things are going to get interesting with back to back wins this weekend. If not they will stumble and finish near or below .500. One thing is for sure the character of each individual on this team will be revealed. For a DuClair and Engvall it’s a chance to prove you are a capable middle NHLer. If I was Engvall I would stop worrying about my model looks and engage or he will be earning his money on the bus in Bridgeport. That place makes Siberia look good! I believe we might see this team extremely motivated, team wise and individually.
Maybe Lou did the right thing a complete tear down would’ve been very tough. However I do understand a lot of people’s sentiment.