Is Noah Dobson available?
Marco D’Amico of RG.org: The New York Islanders have forwards Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau who would draw interest from around the league if they become sellers.
Among other speculation, a source said that they are shopping defenseman Noah Dobson, who is in the final year of his contract with a $4 million salary cap hit.
“He is available for trade, and that is a piece the team is willing to part with in order to get that scoring presence they have wanted for three seasons.”
Dobson will be an RFA after the season. Stefan Rosen noted in The Hockey News that the Islanders were interested in Elias Pettersson and Dobson could have been a part of a package. More pieces would have needed to be involved to even out the money.
The Four Nations break may not have played a role in any of the earlier trades
TSN: Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas told Pierre LeBrun that he thinks all the trade discussion is the same this year compared to past years, and the early trades don’t have anything to do with the Four Nations Face-off break.
“Certainly, most trades get done closer to the deadline, but it seems that each year there are deals done late January. For us, the 4 Nations break had no bearing on our strategy. Circumstances around the league — between the Colorado-Carolina deal and the situation between Vancouver and New York — just prompted action, and our strategy was not going to change between now and the deadline.’’
Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy said their trade with the Philadelphia Flyers made sense at the time, so they made the move instead of waiting.
There is no roster freeze during the Four Nations, and teams are allowed to make trades.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s new and we’re just getting started. Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league.