New York Islanders Return for 19th Draft Pick

The New York Islanders go into the 2016 NHL Entry Draft with the 19th overall pick. They also have a number of prospects already in the system. Do they need to crowd it with another, or should they trade the pick?

There has been much chatter about the potential of the New York Islanders trading their first round selection to the highest bidder. The Islanders could likely keep the pick, but what if they were willing to trade it? What would be a good return?

We asked this question via our Twitter account this morning. We received a number of suggestions, but the one that really stood out to us was this one:

Rumors linking Ben Bishop out of Tampa Bay aren’t new. Just Google search for ‘Ben Bishop trade’ and you’ll see him linked to places like Calgary or Dallas. Of course, these are all rumors and no word has, or likely will come from the Lightning with any sort of definite stance with regards to trading Bishop.

But the potential of a trade featuring the New York Islanders 19th overall pick and the former Vezina candidate was too tantalizing for us to pass up looking into it.

Ben Bishop the Elite Goalie

Bishop is a fantastic goalie and, depending on who you talk to, is one of the few elite goalies in the league or just knocking on the door of the elites in the league. Goalies like Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist.

Over his last three seasons in Tampa Bay as their number one stater Bishop has posted a average 2.20 GAA and a .922 SV% each season. This past year being his strongest with a 2.06 GAA and a .926 SV%.

The issue for the Lightning is what do they do with both Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy come next season when the expansion draft happens?

They’re going to have to protect one of them, so rather than potentially lose one for nothing, the Lightning might want to get as much worth out of one of them while they can.

A straight trade for the 19th overall pick would never happen and Garth Snow would likely be left holding the phone well away from his ear as Steve Yzerman quite literally laughs-out-loud at the proposition.

But a package including the likes of Bailey and Greiss could get the job done.

Bishop for a few Islanders

Over the last three years Bailey has become a consistent 35-40 point forward. On Tampa team already full of top end talent Bailey would make a great third-line addition or second-line fill in.

Griess is thrown in to clearly give Tampa another goaltender to fill the spot of backup behind, what would now be their new number one in Vasilevskiy.

Greiss showed great poise this year in his relief of injured Jaroslav Halak. Helping the Isles finish the regular season strongly and was a key factor in them extending their stay in the playoffs to the second round.

And then the Isles add the 19^th overall pick to sweeten the deal. A pick that could still net some great skill in a deep draft year such as this years. Kieffer Bellows, Charlie McAvoy, Alex DeBrincat are all within the slot of 19^th overall.

If a forward doesn’t do it for you, theres still the option of Denis Cholowski. A young BC native that’s been shooting up the standings all year. Or there behemoth Logan Stanley. Standing at 6’7” and weighing 225lbs, the 18-year-old is a force on the blue line.

Next: Isles Last Five First Round Picks

A deal for Ben Bishop including the likes of backup goalie Thomas Greiss, former first-round pick Josh Bailey and the 19^th overall pick in the 2016 draft seems like enough to at least tempt Tampa.