New York Islanders: What Moves Should Be Made at the Trade Deadline?

The Islanders' situation has become a precarious one this season, as they are just outside of the eighth playoff spot, trailing by six points.

On one hand, you do not want to move players when in a close playoff race; it may throw off the team's rhythm or straight out just not work as one had planned. There's also the fact you won't receive a top draft pick, either.

On the other hand, at what point do you realize a playoff berth isn't likely and a team should acquire players while possible? 

In the Islanders' case, they are stuck right in the middle. They may or may not make the playoffs and a lot rests on a win against Buffalo tonight, and a loss by Toronto. They no longer will receive a coveted top draft pick by hanging out around 12th place in the Eastern Conference, but they don't really have players who will fetch an upper-end player; in this case, a defenseman is desperately needed. 

The reality of the matter is, unless they are willing to trade away one of their core players, which at this point in the rebuild would be a mistake, they just won't be able to get a decent return that equals or exceeds that of the guys they have now.

The fact of the matter is, the Islanders should move no one. They are in a playoff race and having some consistency issues as is. Bringing someone new in at this point more then likely won't have the desired effects, and it's not worth trading away good players on a gamble.

Garth Snow has come out and stated that Nabokov won't be traded, and they are currently in talks about a contract extension. He has provided the security the Islanders have desperately needed in net. Montoya has looked shaky lately, but he also is a player who should be re-signed and not traded at the deadline. 

P.A. Parenteau has stated that his contract negotiations will be put off until the end of the season and the playoff race, and that he is committed to the Islanders and re-signing with them. He is part of the core group and is an excellent support player. Some questioned if he'd continue to play as well after he was moved off the first line, and he has. 

The rest of the group who they may want to think about trading such as Rolston, Reasoner, Pandolfo and Staois, aren't going anywhere. But if the Islanders were to trade any of them, they'd receive a low draft pick, if anything, and some of the aforementioned players' contracts no team is going to want to pick up, especially with most of that group having less then 12 points on the season. Needless to say, we'll see who in that group returns next season, if any.

It may be a bit of a let down to some that no one will be moved this deadline or during the offseason, and the Isles may not finish low enough to receive a top five draft pick this season, but it's a testament to the fact that the rebuild is coming along. Older non-performing players can be replaced by young, good prospects in the system, and the core group of players are all pretty much unmovable at this point due to the negative effect it may have on the team.

The Islanders have something unique here: a group of guys that are more then just teammates, but excellent friends as well. And when they come together as a full unit, they truly can perform. No one moving is a good thing.