NHL Trade Rumors: Top 3 Trade Targets For NY Islanders This Summer

New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has already been busy this offseason, signing the sought-after European free agent Maxim Tsypolakov, stealing him away from teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, who were both interested.

Then Lou made an intriguing draft pick trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, snagging an extra second-round pick in the June 28th NHL Draft.

But after a season in which they just scraped into the playoffs, and were able to take just one game in a first-round five-game series loss, there is no doubt the Isles will be getting much busier once the free agency and trading season rolls around in July.

The insiders at The Fourth Period have proposed three viable and likely trade targets for Lamoriello to be going after in the weeks and months ahead:

Mitch Marner

Obviously, the Islanders aren't the only team that will be tied to the Toronto Maple Leafs star forward who will entering the final season of his contract. But there is certainly a link between the current Islanders GM and Marner. Lamoriello took over the Leafs' GM duties just a few months after Marner was drafted back in 2015, and was reportedly interested in trying to bring him over to the Island in 2019 as an RFA when Lou took over the New York job.

Marner has a full no-movement clause, and there's no telling if he'd waive it for the Islanders, or if he even wants to be traded at all (so far, the indication is that he does not), but this will be a pairing to watch.

Martin Necas

Another name that has been all over the rumor mill this spring, Necas is a restricted free agent, but it's been pretty clear that he wants to move on from the Carolina Hurricanes as his father made no bones about the fact that his son wants a larger role somewhere. The Islanders could promise the burgeoning young scorer just that. However, we're hearing that half the league will have interest in Necas, so the Isles will have to pay up—both in trade assets and a hefty new extension upwards of $7 million plus, annually.

Nikolaj Ehlers

The Winnipeg Jets will be making changes this offseason, and Ehlers is on everyone's list as one of the most likely to move on. He's got one year left on a long-term deal with a $6 million cap hit but is coming off a strong season with a 25-goal campaign (his 6th 20+ goal year in the NHL), plus a career-high +27 rating. This could be a difficult trade for the Islanders to pull off if the speculated Jets' demands of a top-four defenseman are accurate. But don't put it past Lamoriello to try.