Islanders: Three reasons Mathew Barzal won’t be drafted in Seattle expansion

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ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – JANUARY 24: Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders poses for a portrait ahead of the 2020 NHL All-Star Game at Enterprise Center on January 24, 2020 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

What do the New York Islanders do with Mathew Barzal as his contract is set to expire? Is it possible he gets drafted by Seattle in the expansion draft? No. And here’s why.

At the end of the 2019-2020 season, Mathew Barzal‘s Entry-Level contract with the New York Islanders will expire. Meaning a new agreement between the club and its star player will need to be signed.

As an RFA with no arbitration rights, Barzal is a controllable asset for the Islanders and a contract is all but guaranteed between the two parties. The question then shifts to will it be a long-term contract or a short-term contract?

A short-term deal, four years or less will carry a smaller cap hit by virtue of not eating any UFA years. But it also has the significant disadvantage of walking Barzal right up to UFA status if it goes all four years.

A long-term deal would eat a few of those UFA years – an eight-year deal – would take him to the end of the 2027-28 season where Barzal will be 31 by July 1.

But NY Post’s Brett Cyrgalis believes there’s a third option. The expansion draft.

Cyrgalis feels that Barzal wants to play in Seattle; Barzal played his junior hockey in Seattle and was born less than a three-hour drive from Seattle. And as such, the Isles could allow Barzal to be the face of the NHL’s 32nd franchise. For a fee of course.

Here are three reasons that plan doesn’t add up.

NEWARK, NJ – JUNE 30: Ron Francis of the Carolina Hurricanes handles duties at the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center on June 30, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Seattle Won’t Have the Assets

On the day of the expansion draft, Vegas will have no assets aside from draft picks given to them. That first-round pick in 2021, will be its most valuable asset. That pick will, at worst, be the sixth overall pick.

It’s worth noting that Vegas was given 48 hours prior to the expansion draft to sign un-protected free agents (RFA and UFA). A period where they didn’t sign a single player. I would expect the same to happen with Seattle.

In 2017, the Golden Knights were able to start signing players as of March 1. Perfect timing to start signing UFAs not currently in the NHL, like those out of the college ranks.

Jimmy Vesey was the most coveted College UFA in years after he chose not to sign with the Nashville Predators. He’s in Buffalo now playing third-line minutes. Just like any prospect they aren’t sure things in the NHL.

Of the players that could be free agents none particularly stound out as sure-fire top tier players. The two players that stand out, to me at least, are Nashville’s David Farrance (Boston University) and the Rangers sixth-round pick Morgan Barron (Cornell).

Farrance is an offensive-defenseman making gains year over year with B.U. and could be a nice puck mover on the blue line. Morgan Barron is a center putting up over a point per game in his junior season.

Both are great prospects but none are anywhere near the level it would take to justify moving a superstar player like Barzal.

I focused on collegiate prospects, but the same story goes for players at the major junior level. Like Vegas did with Reid Duke of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. The Golden Knights signed him to a three-year ELC on March 6, 2017, five days after they could start signing players.

The overaged player who was originally drafted by the Minnesota Wild still hasn’t cracked the NHL. He’s playing for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.

The only assets the Seattle franchise is going to have to offer the New York Islanders will be picks and prospects. That’s two things that the Islanders just don’t need.

DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders attends the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The Islanders Aren’t Rebuilding

Picks and prospects are great assets to have if a team is building towards the future. But the New York Islanders aren’t building for the future. They are in “win now” mode.

The Islanders locked-in their veteran core just this past offseason to long-term deals. Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, and Jordan Eberle were all re-upped for at least another five years.

They also already have a young talented nucleus in Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, and Noah Dobson already at the NHL level.

I know the Islanders aren’t Stanley Cup favorites at the moment, but they’re the fifth-best team by record currently and are on pace for yet another 100+ point season. Their window to win is open and will very well still be open at the end of the 2020-21 season when the expansion draft happens.

The present is great for the New York Islanders and there is no reason to think that the possibility of acquiring picks and maybe some prospects are going to be enough for Lou Lamoriello to let Seattle pick Barzal in the expansion draft.

If it really gets the point where the Islanders no longer want Mathew Barzal, effectively trading him to an expansion team isn’t going to be the right avenue. Of course, that’s assuming he wants to leave in the first place.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 14: Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders celebrates the game tying goal by Anders Lee #27 against the St. Louis Blues at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on October 14, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Blues 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

They have no desire to get rid of him

Mathew Barzal gets benched for a period and immediately, the speculation is that he wants to play somewhere else. Wild.

I’m sure Barzal liked playing in Seattle. By all accounts, Seattle is a great place to live and work. And Barzal had a great junior career with the Thunderbirds.

In 202 games with the WHL’s Thunderbirds, Barzal scored 278 points in the regular season and another 65 points in 49 playoff games. He also won an Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2017 after winning the WHL playoffs. He was also named the WHL playoff MVP that year. So yeah, he had a good time in Seattle.

But to move from the Islanders, an established organization poised for a run at the Stanley Cup in the biggest sports market in North America, to move back close to home in an attempt to recapture the glory days of junior for an expansion franchise is a stretch in my books.

There are certainly questions around what the New York Islanders do with their star player and what to do with his next contract. But effectively trading him to Seattle is last on the list of options by a considerable distance.

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For the New York Islanders, there’s no reason to move Mathew Barzal. Regardless of what happens in 2021. There’s no way they can get a Barzal back in any transaction with Seattle so moving him is a non-starter for the Islanders.

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