NY Islanders Should Not Think About Trading J.G Pageau

There has been chatter that the New York Islanders should try and move J.G Pageau this off-season. The thinking behind this is free up some cap space and get some more scoring. Unless the Isles were adding a superstar to the roster and needed Pageau's $5 million cap number cleared trading him would be a mistake.

Swiss Army Knife

Pageau has been called a Swiss army knife, and for goes reason, as he does so many things well. He is a good offensive player (13 Goals. 40 Points in 70 Games Last Season), a two-way center, a strong penalty killer, can play on the power-play, is strong in the face-off circle, and is a high-character player-teammate.

Pageau fits the Islanders' DNA like a glove. As mentioned he is a two-way player (which is how you have to be on a Lou Lamoriello team) that is very hard to play against.

On top of all that Pageau is a center. Landing a solid center via trade or unrestricted free agency is no easy task. The Isles have no internal candidates for Pageau's spot at center if they were to move on from him. Remember the plan is to have Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat play together to form a top-line duo.

Man on a Mission

At the season-ending locker clean-out day Pageau sounded like a man on a mission for this off-season. Pageau stated "I want to be stronger, I want to be more explosive. I want to have a better shot," Pageau then went on to say "I think as a player I am someone who always tries to get better in some areas in my game. I'm very competitive in everything I do. Personally, when I go back in the summer, I try to get stronger, see where I can be better."

Pageau has always been a very dedicated player both as a New York Islander and an Ottawa Senator. If yours truly was a betting man, bet on Pageau next season and take his words to heart.

Mentioned in past articles this off-season about the Isles improving their offensive numbers next season internally. An increase in Pageau's offensive numbers while keeping to his bread-and-butter two-way game can be one of the factors in how the blue and orange improve upon the 22nd-ranked offense from this past season.

Bottom line Pageau is a winning player and has been a key cog for the Isles since he arrived. Yes, he didn't have a terrific series against the Carolina Hurricanes (1 Assist in 6 Games). However, in the two prior playoff runs where the Isles made it to the Conference Finals, Pageau was excellent, with 13 Points in 2020-21 and 11 Points in 2019-20.

At the end of the day, the Isles faithful should be thrilled that Pageau is part of this Islander core - and it should remain that way.