March 5, 2024 | 4:39pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
ISLES EXPLORING MARKET, DANGLING WAHLSTROM
Oliver Wahlstrom, forward
The New York Islanders are not planning on selling off any pieces ahead of Friday’s 3pm ET trade deadline. In fact, the team seems interested in adding to the roster in the coming days.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello admitted that he is trying to make his team better this season and has no intention of entering the seller’s market.
“They’ve said that they’re playing the way they’re capable of playing right now. We’ll have to continue to do that,” Lamoriello said, as quoted by NHL.com. “As far as adding, if you can, you do. Are we thinking about subtracting? Absolutely not.”
According to TFP’s David Pagnotta, the Islanders are looking to add up front, but not necessarily a rental. The team is believed to be exploring the league for a goal-scoring threat with term or controllable past this season, and Pagnotta reported during Tuesday’s Trade Deadline primer segment on TFP that the team is looking to package winger Oliver Wahlstrom as part of a trade.
Wahlstrom, 23, is set to become a restricted free agent July 1.
“When it comes to the Trade Deadline, and this time here, if you can do something to make you better... it sounds like everybody says that; it’s real,” Lamoriello said. “It's funny the way it comes down to the last minute when you’ve had two months to make the same transactions if you can, but the parity in the League is dictating a lot of the decisions and last-minute thought processes to see where everybody’s at.
“So, if we can get better, we will. But right now, we feel good about where we are at. We’ve said that consistently, and it’s up to us to show that.”
Last season, well in advance of the trade deadline, the Islanders acquired forward Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks and subsequently signed him to an eight-year contract extension.
As per CapFriendly, the Islanders currently have $2.4875 million in LTIR salary cap overage space with defenceman Scott Mayfield placed on LTIR earlier today.