By Tyler Fennell
Staff Writer
With the NHL heading into its two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break, trade rumors involving many pending unrestricted free agents have been circulating the hockey world. This, coupled with the major blockbuster trades that transpired over the past two weeks, has many fans in a frenzy, speculating potential landing spots for big name players.
The New York Islanders currently have three major players on the trade market. However, with their recent hot streak putting them back into the Eastern Conference Wild Card race, many are questioning if they still want to move on from some of their best performers: Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Noah Dobson.
Palmieri will likely command the cheapest return. However, with him being on pace for a career year, a team that is less concerned with their long-term outlook might be willing to overpay for the winger.
Nelson has been the biggest name on the market since the start of the season. With him being an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and with the Islanders having a terrible start to the season, it was reasonable to think he would be moved at the deadline.
However, recent news indicates that the Islanders actually want to retain the 33-year-old forward. According to Marc D’Amico of The RG Media, the Islanders offered a three-year extension to the forward and are actively shopping star defenseman Dobson.
At the end of the day, it will likely depend on where the Islanders are in the playoff picture by the trade deadline. If they are close enough to where General Manager Lou Lamoriello thinks they have a chance to make a run in the playoffs, Nelson is less likely to be traded.
If the Islanders end up selling at the deadline, Nelson will likely get traded to a contending team. The favorite to land the forward are the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild are missing two of their star forwards Kirill Kaprisov and Joel Eriksson Ek due to injury. Even with Eriksson Ek healthy, the Wild still need a legitimate number two center to deepen their forward core.
A return will likely involve a first-round draft pick and a high level prospect to acquire Nelson.
With Dobson being reported to be on the trade block, many were confused as to why a young, established, No. 1 offensive defenseman would be on the trade block.
Last year, Dobson had 70 points in 79 games. Many believed this made him an untouchable piece for the Islanders.
While Dobson is being shopped, the price is high and the Islanders want a bonafide star forward in return. With the emergence of their three most recent acquisitions on defense, Tony Deangel, Adam Boqvist and Scott Perunavich, the need for more offense up front has revealed itself, and the need for Dobson has decreased.
Another important detail in this is that Dobson is a pending restricted free agent and will command a very expensive contract with the league's cap ceiling going up.
The two teams mentioned the most to potentially land Dobson are the Vancouver Canucks and the Montreal Canadiens. However, a team that is not mentioned that could be a sneaky contender to land him are the Dallas Stars.
The Stars are a very deep team, and with their No. 1 defenseman Miro Heiskanen being out with injury, along with their already weak right side of their defense, the Stars could use a player like Dobson come playoff time. Combined with Heiskanen’s elite play in his own zone, he would be a great compliment to the more offensively focused Dobson.
With the Canadiens in a rebuild and still trying to figure out what the core for the future will look like, players like Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine and veteran defenseman Mike Matheson could be involved in a return for Dobson. The Canadiens also have multiple first-round draft picks that they could be willing to part with if it means bolstering their roster for the future.
The Vancouver Canucks have been in the spotlight for the entire NHL season for all of the wrong reasons. With a very strong season last year, many expected them to be contenders. However, with the locker room drama between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, two of their most talented forwards, the team hasn’t lived up to expectations.
Miller was traded to the New York Rangers. The hope was that this would solve the issue of Pettersson not playing up to his potential. However, this has not been the case. With Petterson still not performing to the best of his ability, a change of scenery is not out of the question.
One of the most popular rumors has been a trade involving Pettersson and Dobson. Petterson would be reunited with one of his closest teammates, Bo Horvat, and Dobson would be moved to a more offensively-oriented system.
They already have arguably the best defenseman in the league in Quinn Hughes, and a great pair for him in Filip Hronek. With them having just traded for defensemen Marcus Pettersson, the idea would be that Dobson would pair with him to create a balanced top four of two elite puck movers and two elite two-way defensemen.
This Vancouver trade proposal would likely require the Islanders to send over a center to replace Pettersson. More likely than not, it would be Nelson.
Vancouver also has a pending free agent of their own in Brock Boeser. If he does not want to resign, Vancouver likely wants to get assets back for him.
The favorite for Boeser as of now is also the Minnesota Wild for the same reasons they are interested in Nelson. With him also being a Minnesota native, it is more likely that he would resign with the team. These aggressive moves would also help convince star forward Kaprizov to resign with the Wild if it turns them into legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.
