Islanders rumors: Mathieu Darche’s trade plans amid injury bug

The New York Islanders were one of the feel-good stories of the NHL season after a 6-1 road trip in early November. They were in second place in the Eastern Conference for a quick moment. And then, it came crashing down. As Alexander Romanov’s absence was felt on the blue line, Kyle Palmieri tore his ACL, ending his season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Monday that Islanders GM Mahieu Darche has a trade plan amid the injuries.

“And the one thing that seems pretty clear is that Darche isn’t going to do something stupid short-term. If he does something that’s short-term, it’s not going to be a big price. It’s going to be ‘It makes sense for us.’ This is not a guy who wants to make a bad, long-term move right now,” Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts Podcast.

“I always wonder, ‘Do you try to make a trade where you trade a fourth or fifth-round pick for a guy who isn’t playing somewhere?’ Like, can you plug a hole for a cheap price? I could see them trying that, but nothing that you look at and say ‘Oh boy, in five years I’m going to regret that one for a short-term fix,'” Friedman continued.

Islanders center JG Pageau is also out week-to-week, but is expected back before the holiday break. With all of these injuries, their depth has been tested, and they have not passed it. They were expected to be sellers coming into the season, and now they may need to buy out of necessity.

The Islanders should be looking to trade away both JG Pageau and Anders Lee before the NHL trade deadline in March. While the injuries have impacted their on-ice performance, it may be better long-term. They could use some mid-round picks to improve their depth after trading both forwards.

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