2 Forwards New York Islanders Must Trade In Offseason

The New York Islanders are one of the oldest teams in the league and it hasn't necessarily helped them. Although teams should have veterans on their roster, Lou Lamoriello takes it a bit far. This season saw some young talent trying to break onto the team, and as the league gets younger, that needs to continue to happen. Here are two forwards that the Islanders must trade in the offseason to not only get younger, but to also free up extra cap space.

J.G. Pageau

For the money J.G. Pageau is being paid, he needs to be playing higher up in the lineup and doing more. That isn't a reality on the Islanders as the top two lines have Bo Horvat, Brock Nelson, and Matt Barzal to play down the middle. That leaves Pageau stuck on the third line at best.

The two-way center has a cap hit of $5 million AAV until 2026 which isn't ideal. He is strong defensively, but scored just 13 goals and 40 points this season. To put things into perspective, the Minnesota Wild recently extended Frederick Gaudreau to a five-year, $2.1 million AAV deal to play a very similar role and produce similar numbers.

Cal Clutterbuck

The fourth line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, and Cal Clutterbuck needs to be broken up sooner than later. They've put a ton of good miles in for the Islanders, but they are well past their prime and overpaid to be permanent fourth liners. Of the three, the least effective is Clutterbuck and he has a cap hit of $1.75 million for one more season. Not only can his cap space be utilized better, he takes up a roster spot for the young players in need of an opportunity.

If the Islanders can even trade one of these players, it would be a step in the right direction. What they have been doing hasn't worked for a few years now.