As per Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News: “Rumors have linked the New York Islanders to Nazem Kadri for several weeks now. Given their need to free up salary-cap space if they’re to sign the 31-year-old center, it’s been suggested they move Mathew Barzal in a cost-cutting trade.” As crazy as that sounds, it’s hard to know if there’s something to this or not when you consider how quiet the Islanders organization has been and where Barzal sits with the team in terms of his contract.
These comments from Richardson come not long after a suggestion by a different scribe that the Islanders could consider trading Barzal to the Detroit Red Wings. The suggestion might be that one of Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi could come back the other way and the move would free up some cap space at a time when Barzal will make a jump from $7 million in 2022-23 to a much higher number depending on the type of negotiation he has with the franchise and GM Lou Lamoriello.
Considering Barzal is set to become an RFA with arbitration rights and one year later will be a UFA (should he sign a one-year extension), it would make sense if the Islanders organization might be considering their options. Stefan Rosner of New York Islanders Hockey Now writes that there has been no word of contract extension talks between Barzal and the team. That’s not necessarily a troubling thing, but it might not be good news either. Barzal has been vocal about wanting to stay long-term, but if the Islanders are unsure of his future with the team and looking to make a big splash, his contract would be moveable.
And, if you consider what’s happened in Calgary this offseason and what’s happened with the Islanders in the past — John Tavares left for nothing four years ago — it is not impossible to envision a scenario where Barzal is moved. Rosner writes, “the Islanders will need to decide if Mathew Barzal is, in fact, part of their future plans before it’s too late.”
If there is a trade to be made, it’s not clear what the Islanders will be looking for. While Larkin and Bertuzzi are two names that come with some cache, they also make some money, so the idea of moving out Barzal to accommodate a Kadri signing only works if there’s not a lot of salary coming back in any Barzal deal. All the while, the Islanders would have to get a haul for him considering his value to the franchise.
And, if he stays, questions about moving him to the wing will be out there and whether that’s a sound plan will be debated.
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