New York Islanders Defensive Trade Target For Every NHL Team

Darnell Nurse | Edmonton Oilers

Contract: $863,333/1 year, Production: 18pts/55 games, Slot: Second Pair
Why We Want Him
How many big strong, tough and hard hitting defenseman do the New York Islanders have? Johnny Boychuk? Scott Mayfield? That’s it. Which is fine when both are 100% healthy. But Mayfield is out for a few weeks at the least. And Johnny Boychuk hasn’t been 100% for a while now.

So why not target big 6’4” 221lbs Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers? If you were craving for the Islanders to get tough and didn’t exactly have Ross Johnston as your answer, this would be the guy to target.

His physical attributes are obvious. But Nurse puts up some good numbers both in terms of production and in terms of puck control. His 18 points on the season would place him third on the Islanders defensive scoring depth chart, and his 53% CF% would be highest amongst the Isles D.

Why We Don’t Want Him
If the Islanders ever were to make a deal with the Edmonton Oilers I feel like they’d have to pay a “swindle premium”. Thanks to the Griffin Reinhart and Jordan Eberle trades Peter Chiarelli isn’t going to take dealing with Garth Snow lightly.

And paying a premium isn’t good business. I understand that you have to pay to receive. But the idea isn’t that you have to pay more, you have to pay equal value. Edmonton won’t want the world pulled over their eyes a third time. Garth is better to look elsewhere than his friend Chiarelli again.