The New York Islanders are reportedly shopping forwards Jordan Eberle and Leo Komarov, as well as defensemen Nick Leddy and Thomas Hickey, according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.
Eberle has three years remaining on his contract at a $5.5 million AAV and this season, he scored 16 goals and 33 points in 55 games. Leddy, on the other hand, was the Islanders’ highest-scoring defender this year and has a single year left on his contract with the same cap hit.
Komarov and Hickey each have a year remaining on their deals and while Komarov played in 33 regular season games this year, Hickey drew into just five.
ANALYSIS
It’s certainly not surprising to see most of these players on the trade block, in an effort to improve the team's cap situation. Komarov and Hickey are both eating up valuable cap space for the Islanders, but the team would likely have to package the contracts with assets, in order to get them off the books.
As for Leddy, I like the idea of the Islanders trying to get something for him, rather than losing him to Seattle for nothing. He’s coming off a strong season and with only a single year remaining on his deal, he should have some value, even ahead of the expansion draft.
It’s interesting to see Eberle’s name mentioned as well. He did average roughly 49 points per 82 games this season, but with him now 31 years old and carrying a $5.5 million AAV, it makes sense that the Islanders would be testing the market, even if he likely wouldn’t bring much of a return. It’s also worth noting that he holds a 16 team no trade list.
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Which player do you think is the least likely to be traded?
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