Islanders got the Jean-Gabriel Pageau they wanted (and paid for)

Remember when the New York Islanders traded for and then signed Jean-Gabriel Pageau? And how the talk around the league was that the Isles wouldn't get that Pageau from the Ottawa Senators.

By that Pageau, I mean the one who scored 26 goals and 42 points in 67 games with the Ottawa Senators. Not getting that version of Pageau would be OK so long as Pageau was OK, right? The trade would and signing would be worth it if we got a good Pageau.

And of course, the Islanders aren't getting a 30-goal center in Pageau, but they are getting a player that has been much better than he was for the majority of his time in Ottawa.

New York Islanders got the Jean-Gabriel Pageau they wanted

In 77 games this year, the middle six center put up 18 goals and 39 points. Over his two seasons with the Islanders, he's got a total of 34 goals and 69 points in 138 games. That's a flat 0.5 points per game with the Islanders.

In his first six years in Ottawa (minus that nine-game year in 2012-13), Pageau was above a 0.5 points-per-game pace once, in 2015-16. Here's his Pts/G over those six years:

2013-14: 0.07
2014-15: 0.38
2015-16: 0.52
2016-17: 0.40
2017-18: 0.37
2018-19: 0.31

So I can see why there was a concern that Pageau would never hit the levels the Islanders were paying him to hit. But in back-to-back years now Pageau has definitively proven he can. The Athletic's player cards (subscription required) show Pageau performing at a $5 million market value this season.

The New York Islanders knew they probably weren't going to get a Jean-Gabriel Pageau who would consistently score 32 goals and 51 points, as he was doing during that last year in Ottawa. But they knew with how he played the game he'd fit their system and the hole they were looking to fill and score around 40-45 points a year while doing so.

That's the Pageau they were paying for and that's the Pageau they got. After two straight years, it's clear the Islanders we right to make that deal and that signing.