The New York Islanders could finally be heading in the right direction under General Manager Lou Lamoriello. On March 6th, the day before the NHL Trade Deadline, he traded forward Brock Nelson and William Dufour to the Colorado Avalanche for prospect Cal Ritchie, Oliver Kylington, a 2026 first-round pick, and a conditional third-round pick.
Trade details, per #GoAvsGo:
To #GoAvsGo:
C Brock Nelson (50% retained)
F William DufourTo #isles:
F Cal Ritchie
D Oliver Kylington
2026 1st Round Pick
Cond. 2028 3rd Round PickWhat an absolute haul. Cal Ritchie is a can’t miss prospect.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 7, 2025
Although from the sounds of it, Lamoriello did not want to trade Nelson, the Islanders GM has a history of setting prices for places. He was notorious for that when he was the New Jersey Devils GM. Reports are that he offered Nelson, a three-year contract, originally reported by RG Media, around $7.5 million on the AVV. Indications are it could have higher. However, Nelson felt he was worth more and thus Lamoriello sent him to Colorado.
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As Lamoriello stated, it is part of the business. He is all about making the team better, and there is no loyalty.
“I can assure you that when it comes down to making decisions, it’s going to make the team better. There’s no sentiment involved, though there’s, there’s no loyalty as far as when it comes to the business, act aspect of it, and vice versa,” Lamoriello said in press conference on Saturday. “So there’s, that’s why there’s no hard feelings when a player leaves. You wish him the best, but you have to make those decisions the best for you and your family And then we have to make whatever decisions are best for the franchise.”
The haul he got back for Nelson was outstanding. Lamoriello found his touch at least one more time. He was able to get a player who will help the future of the Islanders for an aging player who could still score 30 goals, but he felt he was worth more on his next deal, so Lamoriello pulled the trigger.
“Any of the teams we talked to , it had to be their top prospect,” Lamoriello said. “And I feel very fortunate for the organization that we were able to get the quality player who plays that position and was able to basically come right into the lineup . And the reason that he only played games this year is they wanted to save the year of the contract at an entry level.”
As Lou Lamoriello stated in his press conference, he was looking for a top prospect for Nelson. So it begs the question, what could he have gotten for other players who were available at the deadline? Again, he wants to get the team younger moving forward, so why only dip a toe into the All-In water, unlike the Boston Bruins, who decided it was time to get younger?
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Teams were calling about Kyle Palmieri, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Scott Mayfield, and even Anders Lee. Lamoriello could have gotten similar returns for some of those players, especially Palmieri, who could have helped teams with their scoring woes. Teams were willing to send the Islanders a first-round pick and good assets for Palmieri.
As I reported Thurs, the #Isles have offered a 2-year extension to keep Kyle Palmieri. The two sides are speaking later this morning, upon which a decision will be made (sign him or move him). There’s been trade interest in Palmieri, as well as J-G Pageau & even Anders Lee.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) March 7, 2025
As it has been reported, he and the Islanders were in contract negotiations, with an extension possibly on the horizon. However, Lamoriello did not sound too confident when he stated, “We’ll see,” when asked if Palmieri was definitely coming back. He will bring back Palmieri on the team’s terms, not the players’. So that is something to watch moving forward as the Islanders look to get younger.
Even his answer regarding those players makes the Nelson trade even stranger, given that he was trying to get the team younger but still battling for the playoffs.
“If we could have gotten younger and better, other than draft picks, we would have done it without question,” Lamoriello said. “We felt that where a few of our players are — when I say a few, several of our players we could have made moves with — they would be better done at a different time. What we need to infuse in the lineup, those players would be available. That’s a decision we made.
Along the way we also tried to look at this season. We’re four points out , not to give up in any way whatsoever on the guys in that room, without hurting what the mission was to go into the trade deadline. And it ended up the way it was. But I can assure you that if there were other players, not of the caliber we got but close to that, there would have been a lot more moves.”
The issue was that those deals were out there. The returns for Palmieri and Pageau would have equaled Nelson’s return. However, the word “rebuild” is not in Lamoriello’s vocabulary. He will try to retool on the fly like the Washington Capitals have done.
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According to the Islanders GM, those deals were not there, and he does not want a 10-year rebuild on the Islanders. Just imagine if this started after the team went to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. Maybe the Islanders are ahead in this retool instead of being in the same position as the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Lamoriello wants his teams to just get into the playoffs. But if you can’t win a playoff round, what is the point? The Islanders have needed to get younger and needed a goal scorer for years, and it was not done. The hope is that Lou Lamoriello will follow up on the change he preached on Saturday, or else it might be status quo again for the Islanders.