3 early Islanders trade candidates after 2025 playoff elimination

Don’t be surprised to see the Islanders decide to part ways with Palmieri, who was heavily involved in trade rumors but was ultimately kept by general manager Lou Lamoriello.

One of the top reasons why he was so involved in trade rumors was because of the status of his expiring contract; he just completed the final season of what was a four year, $20 million extension to remain with the club. It was a simple decision for him to continue his tenure with the Islanders considering that he not only played close by with the New Jersey Devils, but also grew up locally on Long Island.

Following his 30-goal output in the 2023-24 season, Palmieri remained consistent for the Islanders by scoring 24 goals with 24 assists in 2024-25. He routinely played both on the power-play and in New York’s top-six in their forward units.

But another factor to consider is that at 34 years of age, he’s not getting any younger and could soon start to see his usefulness and value begin to shrink, as it almost always does to players on the wrong side of 30.

Palmieri could potentially fetch a high draft choice if the Islanders were to trade his rights to another club before he officially enters free agency on July 1. It’s time for the Islanders to start looking to the future and trying to get younger, and dealing away Palmieri for an appropriate return could be the first step taken by Lamoriello this offseason.

Islanders trade candidate No. 2: JG Pageau

Another Islanders veteran forward who is on the wrong side of 30 years old, Pageau has seen his production decline in recent years; he managed only 11 goals in all 82 regular season games in 2023-24 before slightly improving with 14 goals in 79 games played this season.

Pageau is set to enter the final year of his current contract with a $5 million cap hit, and may not fit into the long term plans of the Islanders if their goal is to start getting younger. He was linked to the Edmonton Oilers at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, though no deal was able to materialize.

Lamoriello indicated during his post-Deadline press conference that the organization’s goal is to start getting younger, but that they needed more than draft picks in return for a player like Pageau, via RG.

“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—and when I say a few, several players—that we could have made moves with, they were better done at a different time.”

While Pageau’s best days are likely behind him, he’s shown he can still play nearly 17 minutes per game while showing defensive responsibility despite being a forward. Lamoriello may be able to find a club willing to part with more than just draft capital in return for Pageau.

Islanders trade candidate No. 3: Semyon Varlamov 

Another one of the elder statesmen on the Islanders roster, Varlamov struggled to stay healthy this season and was limited to only 10 games; he missed the majority of the campaign and hasn’t played since November 29.

Varlamov said that he plans on being healthy for the start of training camp in September, via NHL.com.

“I expect to be ready for next season,” Varlamov said. “Everything is going well with rehab and physiotherapy. The main focus for me to finish the rehab, hopefully soon, and have a good summer of training, and then ready for September for training camp. That’s the goal.”

Under contract through 2027-28 when he will be 39 years old, the Islanders could shed some of his $2.75 million cap hit and opt to go with the younger and cheaper Marcus Hogberg ($775K cap hit).