New York Islanders Trade: Isles Acquire Shane Prince at Deadline

Moments before the trade deadline, the New York Islanders sent a 2016 3rd round pick to the Ottawa Senators for left-winger Shane Prince and a 2016 7th round pick.

Earlier in the day, Travis Yost speculated that Ottawa was looking for a 2nd round pick for Prince, but he thought they could be talked down. He was right and the New York Islanders took advantage.

On the surface, many will gloss over Prince’s time in the NHL thus far. He has played 44 NHL games and only accumulated 13 points.

However, you have to take into consideration that he was never given much of a chance to succeed in Ottawa. In his 42 games this season, he has only played 10:37 per game and his most common linemates are Chris Neil and Zack Smith.

There are many signs that suggest under the right circumstances, Prince could flourish.

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Despite playing on the fourth line for most of his time, Prince has very strong possession numbers. His score-adjusted shot attempt differential relative to the rest of his team has been the third best on the Senators this season, behind only Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone. On a very bad team possession team, he has been one of the few bright spots.

Even his scoring rates suggest he could have plenty of untapped potential. Among players who have played at least 400 minutes, he was fourth on the Sens in points per 60 minutes at even-strength. On the Islanders he would rank fifth. He also only received 15 minutes on the powerplay all season and has shown an ability to score in the past.

Last season in the AHL, he tallied 65 points in 72 games which placed him second in the league among players 25 and under. In his final two seasons in the OHL, he finished fourth and 13^th.

When judging his play, the only glaring negative is the Senators lack of trust in him. Considering that their leading goal scorer, Mike Hoffman, went through much of the same with that team and was put on waivers at the same age as Prince is now, we’ll take our chances.

Next: Okposo, Nielsen and Hamonic Unlikely to Move

Prince is an RFA at the end of the season and will remain under team control for years to come. We much prefer this to some of the rental rumors that had been floating around, but let us know what you think.