Islanders’ biggest mistake at 2026 NHL trade deadline

The New York Islanders made one of the most significant deals of the NHL trade deadline on Friday. They picked up St Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn, dealing a first-round pick, Jonathan Drouin, and more. After that trade went through, they signed JG Pageau to a three-year contract extension, keeping him out of free agency. Mathieu Darche made one big mistake at his first deadline, which was doing both moves.

The Islanders had some center depth before making the trade for Schenn. With Bo Horvat, Calum Ritchie, Mathew Barzal, Casey Cizikas, and Pageau all taking face-offs, they didn’t necessarily need a center. But Barzal is most effective next to Horvat on the wing, and Ritchie is a 20-year-old rookie. Bringing in Schenn is fine, but Darche mortgaged some of the future by making both moves.

If you add in the other trade Darche made for Ondrej Palat back in February, the Islanders have added $17.35 million to their 2026-27 payroll. With Matthew Schaefer on a rookie deal, they have some extra money to spend. But there are not many great free agents coming available in July, so Darche used that space on proven veterans.

Before the Schenn trade, the Islanders were not lacking veteran centers who could hit and win faceoffs. But Pageau’s deal was expiring, so maybe they were planning on just replacing him early. But signing the Pageau extension just hours later proves that it was never Darche’s plan to replace him.

Considering the insane prices that centers were going for at the trade deadline, the Islanders could have replaced the draft picks by trading Pageau. Instead, all of those centers will be under contract when next season begins. Trades can happen between now and then, but it’s a bit more all-in than many were expecting.

What is next for Mathieu Darche as the Islanders’ GM? 

Darche walked into a sticky situation when he became the Islanders’ general manager, but one fact made it an attractive job. They already had the number one overall pick when he took the gig, and he wasted no time taking Matthew Schaefer. He did a great job in the Noah Dobson trade, immediately flooding the prospect pipeline with talent.

Those moves prove that no one, including Darche, was expecting the Islanders to buy at this year’s NHL trade deadline. They were set up perfectly to sell Pageau and Anders Lee for big returns, further improving the pipeline. But Ilya Sorokin and Schaefer had different ideas, pushing New York to a playoff spot. That should have changed Darche’s plan, but maybe not as much as it did.

The perfect deadline would have been doing just one of those moves. The Islanders could have re-signed Pageau, said we are keeping our two veterans, and gone into the stretch run with their squad. Or, they could have traded for Schenn, who has two years left on his deal, and traded away Pageau, still going into the draft with two first-round picks. Getting rid of Drouin’s contract was a nice palate cleanser for the day, but it still was not perfect.

The Islanders have a crowded lineup that will be hard for prospects Victor Eklund and Cole Eiserman to crack next year. Trades may be necessary in the offseason, but none of them will net the return that trading Pageau at this deadline would have. Casey Cizikas also could have been traded, as he does not have any trade protection. But all of those centers are still on Long Island.

Losing the Colorado Avalanche’s first-round pick in this deal resets the expectations for the Islanders this year. They have to make the playoffs and win, which Darche did not need to put on his team and himself coming into the trade deadline.

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