Islanders: Getting Ready for 2021 Seattle Expansion Draft

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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 28: Andrew Ladd #16 of the New York Islanders skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on February 28, 2019 in Uniondale City. The Islanders defeated the Maple Leafs 6-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Takeaways

Assuming the Islanders don’t make some sort of Grabovski-like trade to sway Seattle GM Ron Francis to look the other way they could lose one of their veteran forwards or Nick Leddy from the blue line.

Barry Trotz likes having Nick Leddy on the roster. He’s a veteran presence on the back end who is used to carrying the bulk of the defensive workload. He’s also one of the better skaters in the league.

Losing him would be a big loss. But then again, with the cap crunch that’s about to hit the Islanders this summer, freeing up $5.5 million from the cap in 2021 would have some benefits.

I haven’t brought up Andrew Ladd, yet. By the summer of 2021, Ladd will be 35 years old and he’ll still on the books for another two years. This is where a Grabovski-like deal could come in handy. Andrew Ladd’s deal, a Parker Wotherspoon level prospect, a first in 2021, and a second in 2022 should be enough to sway Francis to take someone like Michael Dal Colle.

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If Lou gets that goal scorer he’s looking for (according to Elliotte Freidman, Lou is looking) the calculus gets completely reset here. If Lou finds his man, I’ll have to do another one of these.