Islanders: Best fit from FanSided’s top 10 2020-21 trade candidates

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NEWARK, NJ – JUNE 30: New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello attends the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center on June 30, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Looking at a top 10 NHL trade candidates list for the 2020-21 season put out by our parent site, who on the list should interest the New York Islanders?

On Tuesday, FanSided’s Simon Vacca put together a top 10 trade candidates across the NHL. Looking at the list I’ve identified three players that would fit well with what the New York Islanders need going into 2020-21.

The list had a number of good players that could easily be on the move next season, but not all of them are the type of player that would fit in with what the New York Islanders are missing.

For example, the top name on Vacca’s list is Mathew Dumba. Dumba is without question a good player, but the Islanders are set on the blue line. Moving for the Minnesota Wild defender isn’t in the cards. If anything the Islanders will be in the market to trade away one if not two defensemen before the start of the 2020-21 season.

What the Islanders need is a player that’s a clear top-six winger. They need a player that can add 20+ goals a season, that can bank 50+ points in a season, and that is preferably a right-hand shot.

So, keeping that in mind, looking at Vacca’s top 10 list, here are the three players that should peak the New York Islanders interest.

NASHVILLE, TN – JUNE 21: (L to R) David Conte, first round draft pick (#17 overall) Zach Parise, Lou Lamoriello and Claude Carrier of the New Jersey Devils pose for a portrait on stage during the 2003 NHL Entry Draft at the Gaylord Entertainment Center on June 21, 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images/NHLI) /

Zach Parise | Minnesota Wild

Stats (2019-20): 25-21-46
Contract: $7.538,461 million (Expires 2025)
Position: LW
Age: 35 (July 1984)

This one is obvious. Lou has been after Zach Parise for the better part of a year now. According to The Athletics Michael Russo (subscription required), Lou has been kicking the tires on Parise since the summer.

At the trade deadline, he almost pulled the deal off. If not for needing the Isles 2020 first-round pick to pry Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the Ottawa Senators, Lou might have been able to bring in a player he drafted 17th overall back in 2003. And Andrew Ladd could have gone the other way.

It’s hard to think that Lou wouldn’t keep trying to get a deal to work out for Parise this summer. The Islanders will still have a need on the wing for a player that can put up 20+ goals in 2020-21.

In 2019-20, Parise scored 25 goals and 21 helpers for 46 points. With 69 games played, that put the 35-year-old Parise on pace to hit 55 points over a full 82 game season.

Sure, his contract is huge and runs forever. But we currently have a player on a huge contract that runs forever in Andrew Ladd and he isn’t doing anything. Parise would be a real upgrade for this team even if he’s about to turn 36 over the summer.

I wouldn’t doubt that Lou tries to bring in Parise over the summer. What he gives up to get him will be the interesting bit. Will it be Ladd, Bellows, and a 2021 first-round pick? Or will it be less now that a new season has begun?

DALLAS, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 25: Alexander Radulov #47 of the Dallas Stars celebrates his goal with John Klingberg #3 against the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period at American Airlines Center on November 25, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Alexander Radulov | Dallas Stars

Stats (2019-20): 15-19-34
Contract: $6.25 million (Expires 2022)
Position: RW
Age: 33 (July 1986)

You might be tempted to think that because of the way things ended between Alex Radulov and Barry Trotz while the two were with the Nashville Predators that reuniting them is an ill-fated idea.

Barry did bench Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn for Game 5 of the 2012 Western Conference semifinals after the pair broke curfew. The Preds would end up losing the series and Radulov didn’t come back to the Predators.

But when Trotz joined the Washington Capitals a few years later, Radulov only had praise for Barry Trotz. According to Radulov, Barry helped him become a “hockey player”:

“Bad coaches don’t work at the same club for 15 years.” Radulov told Lysenkov today. “When I came to Nashville Trotz helped me a lot. I learned a lot. I became a hockey player. The coach trusted me, called me up from the minors. I have only the best memories of Trotz. This is a new challenge for him [in Washington]. Life changed, he had to go. But he has a lot of ideas that he will be able to realize in Washington.”

Radulov is having his worst season to date in the NHL with 15 goals and 34 points. But the Russian winger typically hovers around 50 to 70 points in a season and returns 20 to 29 goals in a season.

Radulov isn’t the only Dallas Star to be having a tough year. Tyler Seguin has 50 points and Jamie Benn is sitting at 39 points. Both Seguin and Benn typically hit 70-80 points in a season.

Radulov will be turning 34 by the time the 2020-21 season begins, but that won’t stop Lou. If he’s going to bring in a veteran player and he can’t get Zach Parise, Radulov is a great second option.

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 17: Torey Krug #47 of the Boston Bruins tries to hold up Kasperi Kapanen #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on April 17, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 6-4. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Kasperi Kapanen | Toronto Maple Leafs

Stats (2019-20): 13-23-36
Contract: $3.2 million AAV (Expires in 2022)
Position: RW
Age: 23 (July 1996)

The Toronto Maple Leafs need defense. While the Maple Leafs have the second-best offense in the league with 237 goals-for, they also have the 25th ranked defense in the NHL giving up 222 goals-against.

They need to acquire a better shut down defenseman, preferably on the right side. Doing so isn’t going to come cheap. Everyone knows what the Leafs need and the situation the team is in. Their window is wide open, but they keep failing to take advantage of it.

In any trade the Leafs make they’ll have to give something decent off the roster to pull it off. That’s where Kasperi Kapanen comes in.

He recently signed an extension with the Leafs carrying a $3.2 million cap hit. But if Dubas can get what he needs, in terms of defensive help, you know that Kapanen will be expendable to a GM who’s already made eleven trades since July 1, 2019.

Through two seasons, Kapanen has shown he’s a 40 point player. That’s not necessarily the 50+ point benchmark I set out. But Kapanen has been largely used as a third liner. He’s played primarily with Alex Kerfoot and Pierre Engvall at 5on5 this season.

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What would happen if Kapanen gets a more offensive role playing on the second line next to Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier? I don’t think that it’s a stretch to think the 23-year-old could be a good top-six player for the Islanders.

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