Even before the Islanders saw Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic go down with injuries, they were looking for more defensive depth (which makes them like most NHL teams). Now the team has stepped up that search. From what I heard, the team may be in the market both for short-term (impending UFA) help as well as young players who may need a change of scenery.
On the second front, I'm hearing that Jamie Oleksiak is a player of significant interest. Oleksiak has only dressed in 11 games this year and has had trouble cracking the Dallas starting lineup but whom the team is reluctant to try to send back to the AHL because he almost certainly would not clear waivers. Big defensemen often take a little longer to come into their own, and Dallas won't just give Oleksiak away.