Just when you think the nonsense portion of the summer is over, fresh horse manure gets planted. Frank Seravalli, clearly bored and looking for things to talk about on an Edmonton Radio Show, decided to say there have been trade conversations surrounding Ilya Sorokin.

https://x.com/NHLRumourReport/status/1942681372289613961

You don’t need to be the brightest bulb to realize how blatantly false that is. It doesn’t even make any remote sense. Why on Earth would the New York Islanders trade the best goalie they’ve had since Billy Smith? They are not rebuilding. Islanders’ GM Mathieu Darche couldn’t be clearer that the team is trying to compete and make the playoffs this year.

The Oilers:

Trading Sorokin simply defies all conventional wisdom. Now, Seravalli’s a good insider. What he’s actually saying is that other teams called Darche and asked about Sorokin. Darche laughed and hung up on any team making that call.

Specifically, Seravalli said this on an Edmonton radio show, where the entire city seems set on improving on Stuart Skinner. I don’t doubt the Oilers called. However, there is quite literally no package Edmonton could conjure up that the Islanders would take. Edmonton doesn’t even have the cap space.

Beyond that, Sorokin holds a full no-move clause. Sorokin’s been clear that he loves Long Island, making it hard to believe he’d waive the clause.

Utah:

What’s more, that mention isn’t the only time Seravalli brought up Sorokin on that show. He said this as well:

https://x.com/NHLRumourReport/status/1942211677547868449

Once again, it’s too funny to take seriously. The idea of the Islanders trading their franchise goaltender for a draft pick is laughable. I bet Utah asked, as they’ve been trying to make a splash. But I guarantee the Islanders did not think twice about it.

Yes, the Islanders wanted James Hagens. They were never going to give up Sorokin to make it happen. If we’re playing the baseless speculation game, one would think Utah would’ve needed to include Clayton Keller in any deal for Ilya Sorokin. Obviously, Utah wouldn’t do that.

Word to the Wise:

The entire theme of the summer is a competitive retool. Noah Dobson wants out? Okay, flip him for a pair of first-round picks and an NHL forward. Add to the top six. Take a flyer on a potentially elite Russian. Add depth all around. Don’t trade Jean-Gabriel Pageau despite a high demand.

All of those facts point directly to the Islanders doing their darnedest to compete in 2025-26. For anyone to take two aggregated tweets and decide that means the Islanders are maybe trading Sorokin, forget about it.

That flies directly in the face of the entire summer plan laid out by Darche.

An Ilya Sorokin trade? Forget about it. Not happening.