What Could the Islanders Get in a Cal Clutterbuck Trade?

The New York Islanders will likely be selling off some pieces at the trade deadline this year since they are well out of the playoff race. One of those names that could be on the move is Cal Clutterbuck and there are rumors of him being scouted already.

Stefen Rosner is reporting that Joe Sakic, the Colorado Avalanche General Manager, was at the game yesterday scouting Cal Clutterbuck. If that's the case, it had me wondering what could the Isles be getting in return for Cal?

The most likely assumption here is that the Islanders will be looking for futures for any player that they are likely to sell off. In the 2022 NHL Draft, the Avalanche are without their first and second round picks.

The second rounder they would've had is from the Devon Toews trade that Lou Lamoriello made before the 2021 season due to cap space issues. So the next likely option is a third rounder in this year's class or if you wanted to kick the can down the road a year a second in 2023 also could be on the table.

Brendan Lemieux went for a fourth rounder last year, and you could make the case that while Cal is significantly older at 34, his intangibles that he brings would make him more of an intriguing option.

He's played in 70 career playoff games with 11 goals to his name and has that veteran experience that young teams are often looking for. While he may not pop in goals like he did in his prime, he is still a hit machine with 185 in 45 games. He's playing at a 4.1 hits per game pace, which would put him at an insane 337 hits.

Colorado has the offense and the skill but if they're looking for a little bit of that grit, and a guy who could pop in some goals with an underrated wrist shot that Cal Clutterbuck connection does make some sense.