The devastating news regarding Kyle Palmieri’s injury has hit the New York Islanders like a ton of bricks. The sobering news has put a serious damper on what has been a good season for the Isles so far.
Palmieri joins Alexander Romanov as the second Islanders lineup regular to go down for pretty much the remainder of the season. That’s no bueno to say the least. But beyond the crushing effects on the lineup itself, missing Palmieri could also lead to other effects.
Most notably, the situation could force GM Mathieu Darche’s hand and lead to a trade. The Islanders could now be in the market for a top-six forward. Well, the Islanders and half the league are in the market for one.
Unlike other teams, the Islanders aren’t necessarily targeting a center. Any top-six forward could be a potential fit for the Isles. The big question would be where said forward could come from. Unfortunately, the trade market is still too tight for targets to clearly emerge. But there’s a growing sense that the animal spirits could emerge in the coming weeks.
When the dam burst on the trade market, the Islanders could be aggressive in making a deal for Palmieri’s replacement.
Trade would send Islanders the right message
Mathieu Darche is in a bit of a pickle at the moment. Palmieri has left an enormous void that the team will have to fill. For now, the club will have to go with internal options to make up for Palmieri’s production.
Unless someone can step up internally, a trade is needed to send the team the right message. A trade would signal that management believes this club is a playoff-caliber group. Failing to make a move, in the absence of a clear internal candidate, could send the opposite message.
But then again, Darche must avoid making a move for the sake of making one. A move just to make a move could ultimately backfire. The Isles cannot toss away prospects and draft picks just to give the semblance of doing something.
So, it seems making the right trade would send the club a clear-cut message. That message must resonate with the belief that the Islanders are poised to make some postseason noise. At the moment, the Islanders are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers for the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. Technically, the Islanders are on the outside looking in due to their higher number of losses.
Be that as it may, the Islanders are in the thick of it. If the club doesn’t completely fall out of the playoff race by the end of December, a trade could become a major priority for Darche.