Trade Partners & Why Are the Islanders a Playoff Team?
Plus, who could the team deal Oliver Wahlstrom to?
Welcome to the THW New York Islanders Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Islanders writers.
In today’s edition, the Islanders are in a playoff team, but why? Plus, who should the team target ahead of the 2024 Trade Deadline and where can they send Oliver Wahlstrom?
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Now, on to the good stuff…
What Has the New York Islanders in a Playoff Spot?
December 21, 2023 by Michael Ostrower
As the league enters its Christmas break, giving all teams three days off for Christmas, New York Islanders fans have a lot to look back on. As of today (Dec. 20), the team sits third in the Metropolitan Divison, one point back of the Philadelphia Flyers and seven points back of the New York Rangers.
Despite being third, the team is only four points up on the New Jersey Devils, who sit sixth in the division. There is no doubt that a bad stretch of hockey could be catastrophic for the team’s playoff hopes, so how can they help solidify a spot in the top three of the division?
3 New York Islanders Trade Targets
December 20, 2023 by Michael Ostrower
As the league enters its winter stretch, general managers (GMs) are beginning to see a clearer picture of how the playoff race will look. After losing seven straight in the month of November, the New York Islanders have gotten a point in 12 of their last 14 contests, boasting a 9-2-3 record, which has left them third in the Metropolitan Division.
This success has come at a time when the team has lost two of their top defensemen to injury: Ryan Pulock to injured reserve (IR) and All-Star Adam Pelech to long-term injured reserve (LTIR). Now, with Pulock expected to return in the coming weeks, GM Lou Lamoriello will be looking to fill the team’s needs via trade.
Islanders Have 5 Good Trade Partners For Wahlstrom
December 18, 2023 by Mike Fink
The New York Islanders signed Oliver Wahlstrom this offseason to a one-year contract, hoping this would be the season he’d step up and emerge as an elite scorer on the wing. That never happened. The Islanders have played 30 games and Wahlstrom has only played in 17 of them, scoring only two goals and three assists. His last game played was the 4-3 Dec. 2 win over the Florida Panthers and as a constant healthy scratch, that might have been his last game with the team that drafted him with the 11th overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
The interest will be there for Wahlstrom. The question is what type of deal would he be a part of? On top of that, which teams would look to add him to their lineups and take a chance on a player who five years into his NHL career only has 34 goals and 32 assists? The five notable teams that would most likely want to acquire him are rebuilding teams but some of which are ahead of the curve, starting with the first team on this list.