Do Islanders say no?: Big trade with Edmonton Oilers

In my continued look at how New York Islanders players on the trade market are valued by other fanbases, I turn to a big trade between the Isles and Oilers.

As with my two other pieces on this subject (a Scott Mayfield trade to TOR and a Cal Clutterbuck trade to COL), I look at a trade proposal submitted via Cap Friendly's Armchair GM feature and try to answer the question; would the Islanders say no to this specific trade package?

New York Islanders: Do they say no to Edmonton package?

The trade package in question involves a lot of pieces changing hands. Seven to be precise. The Isles give up two and get five back. Sounds good, right? Lets look at who gets what:

New York Islanders get:
Josh Archibald
Tyler Benson
Dmitri Samorukov
2022 1st (EDM)
2023 3rd (EDM)

Edmonton Oilers get:
Semyon Varlamov
Scott Mayfield

That's a lot, right? Let's go through them one by one here, starting with Josh Archibald. Archibald is on LTIR and carries a one-year contract with a $1.5 million cap hit. He becomes a UFA after that deal. Archibald is suffering from long-term impacts of COVID-19 and hasn't played this year and might not play at all this year.

Tyler Benson is a good young bottom-tier player at the AHL and is not making his way to the NHL. He's played 27 games at the NHL level this year and put up a goal and an assist while averaging 8:35 of total ice-time. He's an alright replacement-level player.

Dmitri Samorukov is a third-round pick from 2017 whos at the AHL level after a stop in the KHL last year. I don't see him as an A-level prospect. His impact at the AHL is comparable to Islanders prospect Parker Wotherspoon in terms of NHLe and when it comes to point share he's playing like a third pair guy.

Scott Wheeler ranks Samorukov as the Oilers 11th best prospect (subscription required) in the depth chart. So he's not necessarily standing out at the AHL level or even within the Oilers prospect pool.

The draft picks are easily meant to be the best part of this trade package. A first this year is great but a third next year is not. The individual that put forward this trade package indicated they'd be willing to see that pick go up to a second-rounder. That would be better. But still not great if it's in 2023.

So, do the Islanders say no? Yeah I think they do.

The three players are warm bodies for the Islanders and don't offer much in future value. Samorukov is an alright prospect but that's about it. The first-round pick is great but that third-rounder next year isn't nearly good enough.

Consider the Islanders are filling two huge needs for the Oilers. And neither Scott Mayfield or Semyon Varlamov are rentals. Both have deals that carry into the next season. There's a lot of value there. This isn't good enough to make the Islanders OK losing both pieces.