Islanders: Ranking The Last 10 Years Of Trade Deadline Trades

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Andy Greene #4 of the New York Islanders (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Outside of the obvious, JG Pageau, the New York Islanders tend to take the quiet route when it comes to the trade deadline. With the deadline rapidly approaching next week, I figured we could take a look at deadlines gone by.

Over the last 10 seasons, the Isles have made 14 trades. To be completely honest with you, the number of “impact deals” of those 14 trades is very small.

Like I said, especially during the Garth Snow era, it was depth moves and moves of marginal significance. Without further ado, let’s get into the rankings:

14. The Vanek Deal

This was bad for a number of reasons. Number one, Garth Snow traded away a fan favorite in Matt Moulson, a first and a second in order to land Thomas Vanek. Vanek was productive for the Isles, he had 44 points in 47 games, but they sold extremely low.

The Isles moved a near point per game player and got essentially nothing back. Montreal fleeced Garth and although he didn’t extend with Montreal either, they paid a marginal price considering what the Snow did a few months earlier.

13. Marc-Andre Cliche for Taylor Beck

Garth Snow got six games out of Marc-Andre Cliche in their system (all with Bridgeport). He’d play with the Toronto Marlies the following year. As for Beck, he didn’t do much for Colorado’s system but at least he had a few more productive years in the AHL as Cliche was done with hockey after 2016.

12. The 2015 Goalie Swap

The Islanders thought they were upgrading in net behind Jaroslav Halak. Michael Neuvirth was anything but that. he played just five games for New York and had a .881 save percentage and a 2.94 goals against average.

It’s worth noting he had a .921 save percentage the year prior. This was a swing and a miss from Garth Snow.

11. Yuri Alexandrov

He played 0 games in the Isles system. If you don’t remember who Yuri Alexandrov is that’s why. Yes, they have three trades that are worse than acquiring someone who did nothing for them.

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 18: Chris Wagner #21 of the New York Islanders skates against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Barclays Center on March 18, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Number 10

The tank God! This man was brought in to help the Islanders defense which was absolutely abysmal in 2017-2018. Instead, he is most remembered for putting the puck in his own net…more than once.

Number 9

A hockey trade like you read about. Lou Lamoriello sent Matt Lorito who was a solid AHL player for them to the Leafs for Schmaltz. Schmaltz played just six games with the Sound Tigers before their season came to a close and then signed with Tucson this year.

Number 8

Mark Louis played seven games for Bridgeport putting up no points. David Leggio was also not great with Bridgeport putting up a .861 save percentage and a 3.93 goals against average in 23 games with them in 2014-2015. This one is a wash.

Number 7

In the Islanders best season in decades, they went out and traded for Tyler Kennedy to help their forward group. In 13 games, he had five points (2 goals, 3 assists). He wasn’t awful, he just didn’t really add much to the unit.

Number 6

In his first year with the Islanders, Jason Chimera was pretty solid depth. He put up 20 goals playing in a bottom-six role. The following year, it became fairly obvious that he was done. The Islanders flipped him for Wagner who was definitely an upgrade.

His 15 games on the Island won’t be remembered but the Islanders swapping out Chimera for Wagner was a fine swap at the time.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau #44 of the New York Islanders (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Number 5

From top-line to traded, it was a weird year for Cory Conacher. As for Jeffrey he never played for the Islanders but was an excellent AHL player putting up 23 points in 20 games for Bridgeport. Conacher would play for a few more years in the Tampa Bay Lightning system after that.

Number 4

Giving up Andrew MacDonald wasn’t easy but all things considered, I think Garth Snow did a fine job with the return. That trade ended up yielding Johnny Boychuk and Ilya Sorokin. I guess it was good that MacDonald turned down the Islanders extension offer.

Number 3

Shane Prince was a fine bottom-six guy for New York who at times flashed. To his credit, Prince was good for the Islanders in the 2016 playoffs. In Game 1, he scored two goals against Tampa Bay to give the Islanders a 1-0 series lead.

Number 2

When Adam Pelech went down with an injury, Lou Lamoriello had to make a move. He ended up trading for a familiar face, Andy Greene. Greene’s been solid as a depth guy for them over the past two years and helped the Isles get to the Eastern Conference Final last year.

Number 1

It took a lot to get him here, but it was well worth it. JG Pageau has been downright excellent for New York. He has 13 goals and 25 points in 44 regular-season games. But in the playoffs is when he shines brightest.

Last year he had eight goals in 22 playoff games and was a big reason as to why the Isles went as far as they did. He’s relied on heavily for this team and will be a part of the core going forward.

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