New York Islanders Should Make a Push for William Nylander

The New York Islanders are transitioning as an organization in their post-John Tavares period. The Isles are evaluating who is their future core players. William Nylander would be a great addition and the Isles should make a push for him.

The New York Islanders, head of hockey operations, Lou Lamoriello should be in on William Nylander. Sportsnet Elliotte Friedman has reported that the Leafs have asked teams who are interested in Nylander to begin preparing formal offers.

Why Nylander

The Isles are in need for a top-six scorer both in the short and long-term. The Islanders haven’t found a replacement yet in their top-six since the departure of John Tavares. In addition, Anders Lee, Jordan Eberle, and Brock Nelson all become unrestricted free agents come July 1st.

Strong chance newly minted captain Lee is resigned but Nelson and Eberle are very iffy at best.

Assuming Lee signs an extension in the near future, the Isles only other sure-fire top-six forwards are Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal. After that, the Isles would have to turn to their prospect pool.

Trade Offer

So the question is can the Isles and Lou come up with an offer that makes sense for Kyle Dubas and the Leafs? The Isles organization has depth so yes they can pull off bringing Nylander to Long Island.

A package of Nick Leddy and top prospect Kieffer Bellows can work well for both clubs.

The 27-year old Leddy is a good second-pairing defenseman who is signed for another three seasons after this year at a reasonable $5.5 million cap number. Bellows is one of the top 25 prospects in hockey and has yet to start his entry-level contract. Bellows is a power forward who is very close to being NHL ready.

While most Islander fans would like to land Nylander without giving up Bellows but to get the 8th overall pick of the 2014 Draft to the Isles he must be in the deal. Remember the Leafs are giving up a super young talent in Nylander, who has already proven he is a 60+ point producer.

The package of Leddy and Bellows would be a win for Toronto in terms of talent now and moving forward, as well as greatly assisting them in their current salary cap dilemma.

Keep in mind by trading Leddy it would open up a spot for talented youngster Devon Toews, who is currently in Bridgeport and appears ready to start his NHL career. This deal makes a lot of sense for both the Isles and the Leafs.