The 3 worst remaining contracts on the NY Islanders roster

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The New York Islanders had an opportunity to bring in a big-name scorer to bolster their offense but failed to get it done. When this summer's offseason began, the Ottawa Senators were looking to trade their 25-year-old winger, Alex DeBrincat, after he turned down their eight-year contract offer and searched for an extension elsewhere.

It was understood that the Islanders were one of the two teams who had a chance to trade for the star, but unlike the Detroit Red Wings, the team that ended up landing DeBrincat and returned him to Michigan, the Isles would have needed to clear cap space if they wanted to make it work.

As reported by Andrew Gross in Newsday on Monday, the Senators were not enticed by the prospect of having to take on the salary of J-G Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom in return for DeBrincat. The Red Wings' offer included a 2024 first-round pick and prospect, but not locking up cap space in future years was also an attractive part of the Detroit package compared to that of the Islanders.

In the end, DeBrincat was traded to Detroit, and the Isles missed out on a huge offensive upgrade yet again. This left us thinking, after the Josh Bailey trade to Chicago, what are the hardest contracts to move on the Islanders?

For purposes of this exercise, we excluded the two seven-year contracts handed out to Scott Mayfield and Pierre Engvall and the four-year extension given to 35-year-old backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov. GM Lou Lamoriello just made the decision to bring back all three at term that was double what the market was offering, so while each would likely be hard to move, there's no intention or desire for the Isles GM to do so at this juncture.

Here are the 3 worst remaining contracts on the NY Islanders:

3) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3 years, $5 million AAV)

When the Islanders traded for Jean-Gabriel Pageau at the trade deadline in 2020, he instantly became a fan favorite, as he helped the Islanders reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 27 years, scoring 8 goals in those playoffs.

After scoring 50 combined goals in his last two seasons with Ottawa, Pageau has struggled to find those same production levels on Long Island. While acknowledging the small, sometimes unnoticed things he does to help a team win games, just 45 goals in three full seasons with the Islanders have many wondering if Lamoriello overpaid to keep Pageau long-term.

The 30-year-old is set to make $12 million in base salary with a $5M AAV cap hit over the next three seasons, and while his penalty-killing and face-off skills have value, the Isles have four other natural centers on their team or could find a third-line penalty-killer for a much lower price elsewhere on the market.

Pageau was rumored to be involved in the DeBrincat trade talks with Ottawa, so it will be interesting to see if Pageau finishes out this contract with the Islanders as they try to free up some more cap space. We've already seen General Manager Lou Lamoriello move Josh Bailey this summer for salary cap flexibility.

Is Pageau next?

2) Kyle Palmieri (2 years, $5 million AAV)

Similarly to Pageau, the Islanders traded away a first-round pick to acquire Kyle Palmieri in a trade deadline move. Following a season-ending injury to Anders Lee, the Isles got Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils. While he scored just two goals in 17 games after being acquired, Palmieri helped the Islanders get one series win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, scoring 7 goals in the 2021 playoff run.

His performance in the playoffs led to the Isles leaving Jordan Eberle unprotected in the Seattle expansion draft and electing to sign Palmieri to a 4-year extension to stay on Long Island. To date, streaky play and injuries have prevented him from maintaining the form he displayed in Anaheim and New Jersey. In his time with the Devils, the 32-year-old logged 5 consecutive 20-goal seasons, including a 30-goal campaign in 2015-16. As an Islander, just 31 combined goals in two full seasons.

Palmieri was one of the team's better forwards toward the end of the season, playing on a line with Brock Nelson and Pierre Engvall. After Engvall's seven-year extension, that line is projected to start the season together to see if the chemistry can carry over.

If another off-season move becomes an option and cap space is needed, it's plausible that teams would value Palmieri's scoring ability and shorter contract over Pageau's in a deal. It's more likely he remains with the team and the Isles will be hoping he can remain healthy enough to play a full season and return to a 30-goal scorer.