Islanders Have 5 Good Trade Partners For Wahlstrom

There’s a good argument to be made that he shouldn’t have been re-signed in the first place, making the decision one of the glaring mistakes from general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello’s offseason. Likewise, it’s possible Wahlstrom simply doesn’t fit in with head coach Lane Lambert and his style which is surprising considering the fast-paced and offensive-minded system the Islanders have used this season. The bottom line is that any hope of Wahlstrom becoming the next young star with the Islanders is gone and the time to move on is now.

Wahlstrom struggled to find a role with the Islanders in the early part of his career but make no mistake, he can be a valuable skater at the NHL level. His unique skillset, specifically, his accurate shots and speed on the wing, can open up an offense and his ceiling makes him an intriguing player to acquire for a lot of teams around the league.

The interest will be there for Wahlstrom. The question is what type of deal would he be a part of? On top of that, which teams would look to add him to their lineups and take a chance on a player who five years into his NHL career only has 34 goals and 32 assists? The five notable teams that would most likely want to acquire him are rebuilding teams but some of which are ahead of the curve, starting with the first team on this list.

Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes have been one of the surprises to begin this season. They have a 15-13-2 record and fighting for a wild card position in the Western Conference led by a promising offense, a strong defensive unit, and goaltender Connor Ingram, who is quietly putting together a Vezina Trophy-caliber season. The Coyotes are in the middle of a rebuild, yet look ready to take the next step and become a contender not only by the start of next season but by the end of this season.

Adding Wahlstrom would add a complementary scoring piece to a young forward unit that already has plenty of playmakers. Matias Maccelli has six goals and 16 assists while Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot have combined for five goals and 27 assists, but the forward unit lacks a scoring presence with only four skaters scoring seven goals or more this season. Wahlstrom addresses that need as he can find open shots from the face-off circles and take advantage.

The Coyotes aren’t looking to trade away key players on the roster at the deadline and similarly, won’t make a move that will set them back. So, the type of deal they would make to acquire Wahlstrom is complicated. The Islanders, who like the Coyotes, are looking to upgrade the roster immediately and might look to add an NHL-ready player.

Depth defenseman Victor Soderstrom, who is 21 years old and already has proven he can play a third-pair role, would be the ideal player for Lamoriello to acquire in a Wahlstrom trade. The young defenseman would fill in for an injury-plagued defensive unit and eventually develop into a starter. Otherwise, the most likely trade involving Walhstrom and the Coyotes would involve draft assets, and one or two mid-round selections could make the deal work. Wahlstrom would kickstart a Coyotes rebuild but for the next team on this list, he would be a starting piece for a teardown.

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames look poised to become prominent sellers at the trade deadline. They’ve already indicated they are willing to move on from key players on their roster, trading away Tyler Toffoli this offseason and moving Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the season. The only question is if they will completely reset their roster or go through a retool where they only trade a handful of players with the hopes of being competitive next season.

The player to watch is Elias Lindholm, the team’s top center and arguably their most valuable trade asset. He’s a free agent at the end of the season and could be moved to a contender for multiple pieces. Lamoriello loves to acquire centers and he could look to move Wahlstrom as part of a trade package. Lindholm is the ideal player on the Flames for the Islanders to make a move for but Andrew Mangiapane and Noah Hanifin are also two skaters they would add with Walhstrom being part of the return.

Wahlstrom doesn’t provide an immediate impact for the Flames, especially since they don’t have the forwards to complement his style of play, at least at the moment. However, he would be one of the depth players that would help them rebuild. He wouldn’t lead the turnaround but the 23-year-old skater would be a part of a youth movement that features Yegor Sharangovich, Connor Zary, and Dillon Dube.

Chicago Blackhawks

They acquired Josh Bailey in the offseason (only to buy out his contract) and recently acquired Anthony Beauvillier, so the Chicago Blackhawks adding another former Islander would seem fitting in a way. Aside from the Blackhawks and Islanders ties, Wahlstrom fits in with what this rebuilding team is looking for.

The Blackhawks already have their face of the franchise with rookie Connor Bedard leading the team this season and for years to come. Along with the generational talent that is Bedard, they have a young core in place as they look to build around Lukas Reichel, Philipp Kurashev, and defenseman Kevin Korchinski. With the development of those four skaters comes the need to add depth. Beauvillier is playing in the final year of his contract but a strong season will make him one of those contributors. Similarly, Wahlstrom, who is a restricted free agent (RFA) after this season, would make a good case to remain a viable middle-six forward for a team building from the ground up.

Wahstrom’s speed makes him a perfect fit for the younger and faster Blackhawks. He wouldn’t play on the Bedard line or even in a top-six role. Instead, he could be the forward that helps ease center Frank Nazar into the lineup, the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Among all the rebuilding teams, the Blackhawks are the one where Wahlstrom can best reinvent himself as a depth scorer and play a pivotal part in the team’s rise to contention.

San Jose Sharks

Like the Blackhawks, the San Jose Sharks are in the early phases of a rebuild. They are starting to see progress under head coach David Quinn with young skaters taking on big roles and the team slowly improving, especially after their miserable start to the season. They would love to add another piece and as a team looking to once again trade away veterans at the trade deadline, they could look to add Wahlstrom.

Wahlstrom would be a great player to include in a package to acquire Anthony Duclair, who is poised to be moved at the trade deadline. Duclair is a free agent at the end of the season and the 28-year-old forward will be the skater many contending teams will look to acquire. The Islanders are looking to add versatility to their top-six and he fills that need.

Interestingly, Duclair isn’t the only free agent on the Sharks roster with Kevin Labanc, Mike Hoffman, and Alexander Barbanov all pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) after the season. The roster build hints at a firesale from the Sharks and for the Islanders, it’s a great opportunity to add a skater to help them make a run at the Stanley Cup and part ways with Wahlstrom in the process.

St. Louis Blues

The recent headlines the St. Louis Blues made were firing head coach Craig Berube and replacing him with interim Drew Bannister. The move is the first sign that the Blues, a team starting to decline in the Western Conference, are staring at an inevitable rebuild. Adding Wahlstrom, a cost-effective skater with a high ceiling makes a lot of sense, especially if they look to build around Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, two dynamic top-six skaters.

The question is who the Blues would send over to the Islanders in a trade. Pavel Buchnevich is a great player for the Islanders to target. The veteran has 10 goals and 13 assists this season as well as 145 goals and 216 assists in his career. He’s playing at a high level and more importantly, isn’t a rental with his contract expiring after the 2024-25 season. While the Islanders would love to add him to their top six, the Blues are unlikely to trade him, as he’s an integral part of their success.

The other targets for the Islanders are on the defensive unit but considering they’ve already acquired former Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, they might be cautious to add another player at the same position from the same team. That said, Torey Krug is a player worth making a move for if they only surrender Wahlstrom to acquire him. He’s been a disappointment with the Blues, but the two-way skater can be the missing piece for the islanders, a team that struggled from the point in the playoffs last season.

If The Islanders Can’t Move Him, What Happens Next?

The worst-case scenario is the Islanders keep but don’t play Wahlstrom, making him a healthy scratch for most of the season. It would waste another season for Wahlstrom who needs ice time to develop and a good enough sample size to prove whether he belongs on an NHL roster. Considering how the Islanders have suppressed his value, notably by limiting him, that could end up happening, creating a no-win situation for Lamoriello.

What’s interesting about Wahlstrom is that despite his absence from the lineup, he’s ready to go if one of the depth skaters gets injured. He played on the Jean-Gabriel Pageau line for the majority of his starts and is a steady contributor. While Wahlstrom doesn’t take the offense to the next level, he keeps it from falling off a cliff, and for now, it gives Lambert security, knowing he has a young skater in his back pocket.

Ideally, Wahlstrom finds a way to turn around his season and become the scoring threat he looked like he would become when he began his career. If he was a constant 20-goal scorer, he’d be a regular and a key contributor on a Cup-contending roster. That doesn’t look like it will happen and with other players on the Islanders having strong seasons, notably Julien Gauthier, Simon Holmstrom, and Hudson Fasching, it looks like Wahlstrom will be the first player to be dealt in any trade the Islanders make. Whether Lamoriello looks to make a splash or a one-for-one trade, cutting ties with a high-upside scorer will be a part of any deal.