November 29, 2023 | 10:48am ET
By Anthony LaRocco, TheFourthPeriod.com
ISLES HAVE OPTIONS TO BOLSTER ROSTER
Zach Parise, forward
NEW YORK, NY — After dropping yet another game where the New York Islanders held a lead in the third period in a 5-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils Tuesday night, the deflated Isles have just three wins in their last 11 games.
Fans have been calling for the removal of second-year Head Coach Lane Lambert and even GM Lou Lamoriello as frustration grew over the team’s inability to close out games.
While the team has performed better over the last week, going 3-1-1 in their last five games, they remain on the outside of the playoff picture and sit three points back of a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
With the team technically in the thick of things, Lamoriello has reportedly been looking to add some goal scoring to his lineup and has been rumored to be poking around a pair of blueliners on expiring deals in Nikita Zadorov and Noah Hanifin of the Calgary Flames.
As those talks remain reportedly ongoing, Lamoriello has been busy making other smaller transactions. After losing All-Star defensemen Adam Pelech to LTIR with an upper-body injury and Sebastian Aho being placed on IR, Lamoriello snagged Mike Reilly off waivers from the Florida Panthers.
Reilly, 30, played two games for Florida this season after spending parts of the last three seasons for the Boston Bruins. The veteran left-shot defensemen made his Isles debut on Tuesday and will presumably help fill the holes left by the Pelech and Aho injuries. Lamoriello also made a minor trade Sunday, sending Arnaud Durandeau to the New Jersey Devils for Tyce Thompson, brother of Buffalo Sabres power forward Tage Thompson.
While these moves weren’t needle movers, it is certainly possible that in the coming weeks Lamoriello will pull the trigger on an impact move to help bolster the Islanders lineup if they put together a consistent stretch of wins.
Here are three players who could be options for Lamoriello:
Nikita Zadorov
The 6-foot-6, 248lb Russian defensemen requested a trade out of Calgary earlier this month sparking interest from many teams around the league. Zadorov plays a physical brand of hockey and for his size skates very well. While primarily known for his ability to clear the front of the net and physicality, Zadorov can add an element of offense to a backend, scoring a career high 14 goals last season. In 21 games so far this season Zadorov has collected one goal, five assists and 23 penalty minutes.
Zadorov plays the left side and would help ease the blow of losing Pelech to at least the end of December. He is in the final year of his contract that carries a cap hit of $3.75 million. With Pelech on LTIR, the Islanders now have $3.975M to use in cap space and could theoretically acquire Zadorov without having to send salary back the other way to Calgary – though they’ll need to clear space to welcome Pelech back once healthy.
While there is demand for Zadorov, the cost to acquire him likely would be too high for Lamoriello’s liking if the price tag includes a first-round draft pick. Sending Calgary a second-round pick and another mid-round pick or prospect might be worth the conversation, though.
Noah Hanifin
Hanifin, like his teammate Zadorov, is set to become a UFA this summer. Earlier this season there were some reports that Hanifin was close to signing a $60M contract extension to stay in Calgary but it did not come to fruition. Now, with the Flames early season struggles it seems like the Boston native could be hitting the market this summer, if not dealt earlier.
The former fifth-overall pick has averaged 22:33 of ice time, leading all Flames blueliners. His skating and ability to play in all situations make him a very sought-after player if the Flames decide to move him. Unlike Zadorov, however, the cost for Lamoriello to acquire the 26-year-old will require serious assets. Presumably, the Islanders would have to part with their 2024 first-round pick and young roster forward, likely in the form of Oliver Wahlstrom. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently speculated that if the Islanders and Flames were to hook up for a trade, the Flames might have intertest in the former 2018 first-round pick.
Adding Hanifin might also require the Islanders to add a prospect in the form of William Dufour or Ruslan Iskhakov. For a team that doesn’t possess much depth in their system, that is something that Lamoriello may not want to do but when the Islanders get Pelech back from injury it doesn’t get much better than a 1-2 punch of Pelech and Hanifin on the left side.
Zach Parise
Parise became a fan favorite on the Island in his two-years spent playing for the Blue and Orange due to his ‘energizer bunny’ work ethic and family lineage to the Islanders, with his dad, the late JP Parise donning the Islander crest. When it was announced this past September by Lamoriello that Parise was not going to be at training camp and staying home in Minnesota with his family, the concern amongst Isles fans was not just losing one of the hardest-working players on the team but how to replace his 21 goals. Hudson Fasching and Julien Gauthier were potential players to replace some of that production, but their one and zero goals, respectively, have not done that.
The Islanders’ 56 goals for rank 29th in the NHL and they could certainly use Parise and his goal scoring ability in the lineup. When Lamoriello announced he was not returning for the start of the season, he emphasized he didn’t think Parise was retiring and left the door open for his return saying there would be a spot for him if he chose to come back. Parise resumed skating and training in Minnesota shortly after the NHL season began in what is believed to be efforts to return to playing at some point. When last season ended, Parise openly stated that it was the “Islanders or nothing” when it came to where he would play this season, if he chose to. We’ll see if Lou comes calling to bring him back in the fold.