Islanders: Pros and cons of trading for Kyle Palmieri

Cons of Palmieri trade

• Right shot
• Not playing well
• Rental

Now for the cons of bringing in Palmieri. The obvious con is that he’s a right shot. The gap in the Islanders lineup is currently on the left-wing. It’s hard to believe that the Isles will have an all righty top line of Palmieri-Barzal-Eberle.

Bailey could move up to the top line but it doesn’t make a ton of sense to move Palmieri to Nelson’s line, which is primarily a shutdown line now. And why breakup Beau-Pageau-Wahlstrom?

Palmieri’s also not playing particularly well at the moment. With six goals and 16 points in 32 games this season, he’s pacing out to have his worst year as a Devil. Are the Islanders bringing in a player that’s on the decline? Or is this just a blip?

Personally, I don’t think that at 30, Kyle Palmieri is done just yet. He’s still got a number of good years left. There’s also the idea that the New York Islanders are a better team with more talent than the Devils. What happens when Palmieri is surrounded by better players? Intuitively you’d have to think that would bring out the best in him.

Now, what about the fact that he’s a rental who could be an unrestricted free agent once his contract expires at the end of the year?

It’s a fair concern to have. The Islanders need to get the best out of Palmieri in the short amount of time that he’ll be with the Islanders (assuming they don’t re-sign him). If he comes in and plays like he’s playing in New Jersey, and the Isles can’t elevate him, Lou will have effectively burned whatever assets he sent to the Devils not to mention having a passenger when the Isles are looking to add a driver.