Islanders trading Ilya Sorokin would be a franchise-wrecking mistake

I honestly never thought I'd have to write about this one, considering how much Mathieu Darche and Company crushed the offseason. trading one of the best goaltenders in hockey would be shortsighted, even if a team like the Edmonton Oilers could offer the New York Islanders top-notch compensation.

It would be one thing if Darche came in, tore everything down, then drafted Matthew Schaefer to rebuild the franchise from scratch. Okay, I get it. But you can't trade one of the best netminders in the world after you not only kept the team together, but you made it stronger.

Not when you have Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Jonathan Drouin, and Schaefer, among others. No, you keep one of the best goaltenders out there, and you play to win. Trading Sorokin would mean giving up on the season, even if it'd be a blockbuster deal of epic proportions.

Sorokin still has a full no-movement clause, and a salary that the Isles may need to retain a portion of. That said, i can see the logic behind moving Sorokin, but this could be a playoff-caliber team in 2025-26. So, I'll stick with my 'shortsighted' comment from earlier.

When should the Islanders consider moving Ilya Sorokin, if ever?

If I were Mathieu Darche, there's only one way I'd picture myself moving Sorokin - if I'm nearing the trade deadline and my team's more than out of the race. And that's just baseline. I'd need to be convinced that a rebuild, and not more of a retool, is necessary here.

Last season, the Isles weren't a good hockey team, and I'm convinced Sorokin kept them in more than a few games. He snagged 30 wins in 60 starts, which isn't phenomenal, but again, that's going to happen when the team playing in front of you can't score.

His save percentage sat at just 0.907, which in today's game, really isn't that bad, while his 2.71 GAA was a major improvement from his 3.01 GAA in 2023-24. No, it's not where Sorokin should be, as he'd still seen better days. But he'd also played netminder for better versions of the Islanders.

And with the moves Darche made this offseason, expect a better version than what you saw last season. I still wouldn't call the Isles a great hockey team, but they're a group that can realistically compete for a playoff spot in 2025-26.

Talking about a potential Sorokin trade shouldn't even be a conversation

While a Sorokin trade is in the rumor mill, I'm not someone who's taking this one seriously yet. Still, even with the fact that anyone's talking about this, I do want to mention it shouldn't even be a conversation.

In this league, you don't trade a franchise netminder unless that franchise plans on missing the playoffs for at least the next three or more seasons. Not when you made a good first impression on your fan base.

Nope, go into the season with Sorokin as your No. 1 goaltender, let him go to work, and let him bring your team, one that should be more high-octane this season, a few more wins than they otherwise would've gotten last season.

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