Don't Expect the Islanders to Trade for Filip Forsberg

hearThe Nashville Predators are actively shopping Filip Forsberg according to Andy Strickland. He is the perfect fit for the New York Islanders but don't expect them to trade for him during the season, as hard as that may be to here.

Forsberg is everything you want in a player to add to this team. He's a stud, scoring 26 goals in 38 games this year and with 44 points to go along with it. In fact, he was a first round pick back in 2012 when Barry Trotz was the coach for Nashville.

So why am I saying the Islanders shouldn't trade for a guy that would be exactly what they need?

Well, wait until free agency. The 2021-2022 season is a lost cause, the Islanders would only be giving up assets to get this guy in a lost season rather than waiting until he hits the market. Forsberg clearly wants to test the market, considering that Nashville is looking to shop him while currently in a playoff spot.

When it comes to free agency, the Islanders have the cap room to make him a massive offer. They have $13.8 million in cap space to play with and that's before the possibility of shedding a contract like Semyon Varlamov which would open that up to nearly $19 million to play with.

He's currently making $6 million against the cap and one would assume that he would likely be in that seven-year $56 million ($8 million AAV) range at least if not more on the open market. There aren't a ton of teams who have the room for that but the Islanders do and it aligns perfectly with the retool.

Forsberg is a right-handed shot playing on the left side for Nashville. He theoretically could continue that if he was here for the Islanders or you could keep Anders Lee up top with Forsberg on Barzal's right hand side.

Going after Forsberg in the offseason makes a ton of sense, and I'd expect the Islanders to be all over it but if you're expecting the Islanders to be buyers at the deadline, even for him, you will be let down.