Islanders Trade Rumors: 7 Defensemen Listed As Potential Trade Targets

It was reported over the weekend that the New York Islanders, facing a rash of injuries on the back end, are in the market for a defenseman. NYI analysts have quickly responded with a list of plenty of options for GM Lou Lamoriello to target.

We've compiled the names here, courtesy Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News and Arthur Staple of The Athletic, with seven defensemen listed as potential trade targets for the Islanders:

Erik Brannstrom, Detroit Red Wings
Declan Chisholm, Minnesota Wild
Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks
Erik Gustafsson, Vancouver Canucks
Jon Merrill, Minnesota Wild
Scott Perunovich, St. Louis Blues
Brendan Smith, Dallas Stars

One name that we can probably scratch from this list right off the bat is Fowler. Yes, he has been a prominent name on the trade market thus far this season and the Ducks are looking to move him to a situation that's a better fit for the 32-year-old.

But with two years (including this one) remaining with a $6.5 million cap hit, it would take a major reshuffling of the roster for the Isles to make this happen. Staple suggests that New York would have to jettison one of their top-four D-men to make this work salary-wise.

He also projects that "if the Isles do add, it’ll be small and cheap".

Which leads us to a few other names on the above list. Perunovich, who isn't a full-timer in St. Louis, and is on an expiring $1.15M contract, is a possibility.

Merrill in Minny is another decent option, playing out a $1.2M deal, and with 12 years' experience in the NHL. He's earning 13 minutes TOI so far in 2024-25. Still with the Wild, Chisholm, also a third-pairing option, will also be a UFA after his $1M deal runs out this season.

Brannstrom is playing on his off-side in Vancouver, as Rosner notes, and is on a cheap $900,000 one-year deal. Smith in Dallas is another capable veteran, who hasn't been able to carve out a full-time role this season.

Gustafsson has been a healthy scratch four times already this season in Detroit but his $2M cap hat carries through next season. Certainly, he's shown himself to be a capable D-man in the NHL at times in his career.

With Matt Barzal's $9M on LTIR, the Isles have some salary cap room to work with for a while, and Lamoriello is weighing his options while Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly will take some time to heal from their injuries.

"Obviously, when you have a couple of players that go down the way they did, you certainly are paying attention to whatever can be and cannot be done," Lamoriello said.