Islanders: Good, Bad, Ugly of trade market for Nick Leddy

The Bad

The bad is getting worse by the day. The field of veteran left-handed offensive defensemen is seemingly growing by the minute. Because while I only looked at the trade market for the “good” slide, things get bad for the Islanders when you include the free-agent market.

On July 14, the Minnesota Wild bought out left-shot D Ryan Suter. The next day, July 15, the Florida Panthers bought out Keith Yandle.

Both are left-shot veteran defensemen. Both have put up strong numbers throughout their careers. And now both will be available for cheap.

Sure, Suter had a down year and is six years older than Leddy, but the former Nashville and now Minnesota defenseman is a year removed from a 58 point* season. He’s still a good defenseman.

(*48 points in 69 games paced out over a full 82 game season.)

The same goes for Keith Yandle. The 34-year-old put up 45 points last year, a pace of 54 over a full NHL season.

Add both of these players to those that are available on the trade block and the number of available options for teams looking to bring in a veteran left-shot offensive-defenseman is longer now. Nick Leddy may no longer be that number one guy on the market anymore.

Remember, that Leddy stood out amongst the trade market for his smaller cap hit and for having a tradeable contract if things didn’t go so well. Both Suter and Yandle can sign deals well below Leddy’s $5.5 million cap and will certainly sign for a single year as well. Making them just as tradable if not more come the trade deadline.