Why the NY Islanders should consider trading the No. 1 Pick in the 2025 NHL Draft

Let’s be real: when the New York Islanders won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery, it felt like the hockey gods were finally smiling on Long Island. The chance to draft a potential franchise-altering player like Erie Otters D Mathew Schaeffer is there for the taking. He's the consensus No. 1 player in the Draft, and some believe it's not that close, but if this team wants to be more than only competitive in the Barzal-Horvat window, I think we have to seriously consider trading that No. 1 pick.

I understand those who simply say you run up and take the best player available and don't look back. However, this isn’t 2009. We’re not in a full rebuild. New GM and Executive VP Mathew Darche retained Patrick Roy to be a playoff team next season. They believe they have strong goaltending in Ilya Sorokin, a solid defensive core, and enough veteran scoring, so they can be a much better team if they remain healthy and tweak the roster in both style and personnel. So far, everything Darche has said indicates he's not looking to blow things up early and accelerate a rebuild.

A raw 17-year-old might be a star one day, but the Islanders don’t have the luxury of waiting five years for “one day” if they plan to compete for a Stanley Cup while their existing core is in their prime. Trading the top pick could bring ready-now young NHL contributors that can make an immediate impact, and the team can still end up with a higher draft pick than they could have ever imagined.

If some desperate GM is dangling a top-six forward and a high-end prospect through their own pick in the Draft? We should be listening. Teams like San Jose, Buffalo, Calgary, or Columbus might offer a haul for the opportunity to draft Schaeffer No.1 overall. Adding a young forward with top-six potential along with Michael Misa, or even, James Hagens, could provide early returns than Schaeffer.

The Islanders' prospect pipeline isn’t deep, but it's improving. Can the Islanders move down a few spots, grab a solid prospect, and add future picks or young NHL-ready talent? That could be how you build sustainably without punting the present. Look, keeping the pick is totally justifiable. Plus, it would lead to the least amount of second-guessing. But if someone comes knocking on Darche's door with a package that knocks his socks off and helps the Isles win now and build for later, the new GM owes it to this core to take the call.