New York Islanders Best Destination to Trade Josh Ho-Sang

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 07: Joshua Ho-Sang #66 of the New York Islanders passes the puck against the Buffalo Sabres in the first period at Barclays Center on October 7, 2017 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 07: Joshua Ho-Sang #66 of the New York Islanders passes the puck against the Buffalo Sabres in the first period at Barclays Center on October 7, 2017 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

If New York Islanders Josh Ho-Sang is to be traded, where would be the best destination? As in the best place for him and where the Islanders could get the best return.

Let me be clear right off the top, I don’t want the New York Islanders to trade Josh Ho-Sang. I want him to be that dynamic offensive force we saw over his 22 game NHL career so far. But if Ho-Sang is going to be traded, where would be the best fit?

The reason Josh Ho-Sang trade talks comes up is thanks to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Freidman and his 31 thoughts column from this past week. In it, he indicated that he’s heard Ho-Sang could be traded.

To clarify, by “fit” I mean two things. First, what team could use his talents? And second, what team also has something the Islanders could use in return?

The Desert

To narrow down teams based on the first criteria I looked at NHL franchises that had a hard time scoring. Buffalo, Arizona, Montreal, Detroit and Vancouver were the five worst goal-scoring teams in the NHL last season.

Only one of those teams might have something the New York Islanders need a top four, maybe even a top two defenseman. And that’s the Arizona Coyotes with Oliver Ekman-Larsson

The Arizona Coyotes obviously want to keep Ekman-Larsson, but they might not be able to do so. It seems that what the Coyotes are offering won’t enough to keep OEL in the desert according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

So assuming that’s the case, the Islanders should come in with this deal:

The Coyotes get two controllable assets with goals in them. In the case of Brock Nelson, the Coyotes get a 20 goal center, maybe more in a new environment. In Josh Ho-Sang the Coyotes get a player that creates the opportunities both 5on5 and on the power play.

The New York Islanders get a player that can move the puck forward and out of the defensive zone. He can also put up somewhere between 40-60 points in a season.

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The trade addresses both of the Islanders and the Coyotes needs going into the 2018-19 NHL season. It’s a perfect fit.