NHL Rumors: Islanders To Trade Veteran Defenseman

According to James Nichols of The Fourth Period, the New York Islanders are expected to be sellers and Zdeno Chara could be moved because of it.

Chara returned to the Islanders 20 years after the completion of his first stint with the organization. In 40 games this campaign, he has six assists to go along with 68 penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating.

Chara may no longer be the star that he once was, but he is still certainly an acceptable option for the bottom pair. Yet, teams could also be interested in adding him to their roster as a depth defenseman, too. Teams can never have too many players on the backend once the playoffs come around.

There could be a decent amount of interest in Chara once we get closer to the deadline. He only carries a $750,000 cap hit, so he's very easy to afford. With that, he is still extremely tough and doesn't shy away from the physical side of the game. He obviously also has a plethora of experience and is known for his leadership skills because of it.

Alas, it will be interesting to see if we end up seeing the 44-year-old future Hall-of-Famer moved.