The NY Islanders' 'bad' contracts may now be desirable

During Lou Lamoriello’s tenure with the NY Islanders, a portion of the contracts the former GM gave out involved max-term or close to it. The AAV given out was fair, but as the salary cap continues to rise, many of these contracts can be looked at as steals in their later years.

The salaries given out this off-season have been substantially inflated. Today, Jake Walman signed a seven-year, $7M AAV contract with the Edmonton Oilers. While Walman is a solid defenseman, a few years ago, he would not have been worth the contract he just signed.

With what are now looking like team-friendly deals due to the increase in salary cap, teams at the trade deadline looking to add for a playoff run could potentially turn to the Islanders. 

Adam Pelech, who signed an 8-year extension in 2021, is in the fifth year of his deal with a $5.75M AAV. His defensive partner for most of their tenure on Long Island, Ryan Pulock, signed a new contract the same summer (kicking in for 2022-23), and is now in year four of an 8-year deal with a $6.15M AAV.

With the Islanders seemingly building for the future, two middle-pairing defensemen with reasonable contracts could become highly coveted. 

Having what is now considered a deep prospect pool, the Isles have Kashawn Aitcheson, Isaiah George, and Matthew Schaefer as the future of the blue line. Having players who can slot into the lineup in a year on minimal deals would allow Mathieu Darche to be aggressive in free agency

While Pelech and Pulock are still valuable to the Islanders, freeing up cap space would allow them to be involved in this summer's top free agents, which, as of now, includes Kyle Conner, Jack Eichel, and Martin Necas.

It would need to be the right deal at the right time for Darche to pull the trigger on a trade, but the contracts given out by Lou Lamoriello are beginning to look a lot more favorable for the Islanders.