Against Conventional Wisdom, Islanders Palmieri Stays
It's been a few days since the Islanders decided to not move Kyle Palmieri at the trade deadline. Let's talk about it.
The biggest shock of the week wasn't the New York Islanders trading Brock Nelson, but the subsequent move to keep Kyle Palmieri and work on an extension.
It's been a few days since the decisions and with the Islanders off on Monday following their back-to-back split, it's time to dive in.
Immediately, at 3 PM ET on Friday, fans and media alike were confused that Palmieri was still a member of the team. It was a head-scratching decision that general manager Lou Lamoriello tried to justify when he met with the traveling media in San Jose on Saturday.
"If we could have gotten younger and better, other than draft picks, we would have done it without question," Lamoriello said. "But we felt that where a few of our players are -- when I say a few, several players -- that we could have made moves with, they would be better done at a different time, where what we need to sort of infuse in the lineup, those players would be available. That's a decision we made. And along the way, we tried also to look at this season with four points out, not to give up in any way whatsoever on the guys in that room without hurting what the mission was to go into the trade deadline, and it ended up the way it was. But I can assure you that if there were other players, and not of the caliber that we got, but close to that, there would have been a lot more moves."
So, it's clear that, in Lamoriello's eyes, the return for Palmieri, who reached the 20-goal mark against the Winnipeg Jets in a 3-2 win before the trade deadline, wasn't worth moving the player.
Per reports I can confirm, the Islanders have offered Palmieri a two-to-three year deal under his current $5 million AAV.
However, talks are still ongoing.
"We're talking to Kyle. We'd like to keep Kyle, but once again, under our terms, similar to a Brock, because a player like that, with the young players that will be infused in this lineup, you still have to have players that can play, and he brings a certain element," Lamoriello said. "But it might not happen. We'll see."
Obviously, if Palmieri's camp won't agree to the Islanders' terms, Lamoriello could see him walk at the end of the season for nothing when he had the chance to get at least something for the vet.
If the potential return was a late second-round pick in a weaker 2025 NHL Draft, then it's understandable, with the Islanders still having their eyes on a playoff spot, not to rid themselves of two top-end goal scorers.
Goal scorers don't go on trees and as Lamoriello also mentioned, he has ZERO interest in rebuilding.
But, let's focus on the offseason.