Instant Reaction After Islanders Acquire Ondrej Palat
GM Mathieu Darche is doing what he can to stabilize his lineup.
The New York Islanders have acquired veteran forward and two-time Stanley Cup champion Ondrej Palat from the New Jersey Devils, along with a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick, for forward Maxim Tsyplakov.
This deal comes just a day after the Islanders sent their 2026 third-round pick to the New York Rangers for defenseman Carson Soucy.
Palat, who has one season left on his deal at $6 million annually, had a 10-team trade list. There will be no retention on the deal, which is why the Islanders got two picks for him. He has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 51 games this season.
Tsyplakov, who was in the first season of a two-year deal worth $2.25 million annually, has just two points (one goal, one assist) in 27 games played this season.
So, why did the Islanders make this trade?
There’s no question that the Islanders, given the amount of cap space they have, are one of the few teams that could take on Palat’s full deal, and it’s clear that the Devils just wanted to create cap flexibility. Mix that in with Palat winning two Stanley Cups with now-Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche when they were both in Tampa (2020, 2021), and there are reasons why this deal came to fruition.
The Islanders add someone who has won before to bolster their forward group, while trading someone in Tsyplakov, who failed to win a role after a promising first NHL season in 2024-25.
Now, it’s worth mentioning that former general manager Lou Lamoriello is the one who signed Tsyplakov out of Russia, not Darche. When Tsyplakov needed a new deal, his agent filed for arbitration. They ultimately avoided going to court before the two sides reached a deal.
When talking with Tsyplakov and Roy in Nashville, there was clearly a disconnect in the type of game his bench boss wanted from him. Roy wanted him to be a true power forward, but Tsyplakov’s willingness to be more of a finesse player saw him sit on the sidelines more often than not. When he did play, ice time was cut as Tsyplakov just was not working in this system.
That situation, along with the growth of fellow Russian forward rookie Maxim Shabanov, excluded Tsyplakov from being part of the “winning” equation.
This move is a signal from management that they haven’t quit on the team, which was starting to show signs that it may not have what it takes to remain in a playoff spot.
So, it should be a message to the team that they should not be quitting either, not that they have. They have overcome so much this season that they are being rewarded, and rightfully so.
Palat, like Soucy, is a stabilizer, whether he plays in Kyle Palmieri’s spot in a top-six role or plays more in a bottom-six role.
Roy has had to shuffle his lines so often due to injuries and inconsistencies that it’s made it impossible to maintain consistency.
So, this should help.
Even with taking on Palat’s deal, the Islanders have north of $6 million in available cap space. That’s with Kyle Palmieri’s $4.75 million, Alexander Romanov’s $6.25 million, Semyon Varlamov’s $2.75 million, and Pierre Engvall’s $3 million cap hits on LTIR.
That leaves the door open for Darche to add even more before the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline on March 6.
It looks like they are keeping all their prospects and top Draft Picks. It’s the right thing to do. Soucy and this move stabilizes and gives this team every chance to make the playoffs. Darche knows what’s on the horizon! They want to home grow this thing. Whatever happens I have enjoyed watching them this year more so than the last four or so.
Now upgrade PP