New York Islanders' Best Trade Of The Past Year

The New York Islanders don't make very many trades, but they are impactful when they do. Of the three trades made over the past year, the one that occurred last offseason stands out as the best. Some may think that giving up a 13th overall pick to acquire a young and mostly unproven defenceman isn't the best, but we need to look at it in a different light.

The trade between the Islanders and Montreal Canadiens involved Alexander Romanov and a fourth round pick heading to New York and the 13th overall pick in the 2022 draft heading back to Montreal. That first round pick doesn't help anybody for a couple of years at the very least since it's not a top-five selection. What the Islanders needed was their defence addressed with Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene retiring in the same offseason.

The Islanders got a young defenceman who is focused on what the team is about, defence, and had two years under his belt. While he's already set a career high in points, he has delivered nearly 200 hits and blocked 129 shots this season. The Islanders continue to try to get a bit younger and this trade helped out with that as well.