Just ahead of puck drop, we received some fresh news on the Brock Nelson front for the first time since before the 4 Nations Face-Off. On TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports that the New York Islanders have not made Brock Nelson available for trade as of today.
Islanders general manager and president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello made his last pitch on a contract extension Thursday.
Teams are still waiting to hear back from GM Lou Lamoriello as to Nelson's availability as of Wednesday and extension talks are ongoing.
You must credit New York Islanders’ President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello. After leaving the entire hockey world in the dark about his plan, he sent Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche for a haul.
It’s officially the eve of the NHL Trade Deadline. Despite how close the deadline is, the New York Islanders camp is in virtual radio silence regarding Brock Nelson’s status. This is exactly how team president and general manager Lou Lamoriello likes it.
Brock Nelson practiced with the Avalanche in Denver on Friday. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, there were no other key members of his former team missing from the Islanders’ practice at Sharks Ice. President/general manager Lou Lamoriello did not trade fellow forwards Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee despite teams inquiring about them,
So even as Wednesday passed without news coming from the Islanders as the NHL trade deadline approaches on Friday, there was still plenty to talk about. All indications are that president/general manager Lou Lamoriello has fielded calls from other teams with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri pending unrestricted free agents and potential fits for several playoff contenders.
But, very notably, pending unrestricted free agents Brock Nelson — No. 1 on most trade target projection boards — and Kyle Palmieri both remained in the lineup on Tuesday as president/general manager Lou Lamoriello opted not to hold his assets out for protection.
The New York Islanders enter the NHL trade deadline with a lot of questions to answer. They have pending free agents and sit outside of a playoff spot. But the Eastern Conference is weak and one key piece could catapult them up the standings.
The Isles sent Nelson and William Dufour to Colorado late Thursday night for a package including Calum Ritchie and draft picks.
Playing it close to the vest fits how Nelson has acted throughout his NHL career. He is a ready and willing interview during the season but his words always seem to come with a detached sense of analysis, as if he’s separating his emotions from his public persona.
There’s also the matter of Lamoriello’s loyalty to his crew. He only traded Nelson for that good return because Nelson rebuffed several contract offers, likely in the three-year range. If Lamoriello had his way, no one would have been traded this week and the Islanders would have brought the entire gang back for another go in 2025-26.