All eyes are rightly on Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri — the pair of Islanders on expiring contracts who now must surely be dealt by Friday’s trade deadline following the team’s meltdown at Madison Square Garden on Monday evening.
But those are not the only two players teams will be checking in on for the remainder of this week.
The question in this seller’s market is not only whether Lou Lamoriello will do what he has resisted for so long and begin retooling. It is how far he will choose to go.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who is under contract through the end of next season, could surely help a playoff team as a two-way center with experience on both special teams who can anchor a checking line.
Particularly if the Islanders retain part of Pageau’s $5 million salary, there would be a market there.
Ditto for Anders Lee, who has been one of the Islanders’ best players this season and could approach being a 30-goal scorer for the first time since 2018.
Like Pageau, that becomes much more attractive if the Islanders retain some salary — Lee’s cap hit is $7 million — but there is no doubt that the 34-year-old who has typified Islanders culture throughout his career and who has brought high-end effort every single night would have teams lining up for his services.
And then there is the blue line, where the Islanders — thanks to the trio of players brought in when injuries hit in January — currently have eight NHL-caliber players.
Flipping either Adam Boqvist or Tony DeAngelo between now and Friday could at least get them back the conditional 2026 fifth-round pick they gave up for Scott Perunovich, if not a little more.
While Noah Dobson’s name went through the rumor mill last month, it’s not believed the Islanders are looking to move him unless they get an offer they can’t refuse.
Alexander Romanov has proven himself to be a foundational piece of the future with his play this season.
Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech both hold no-trade clauses that would complicate any potential deal, as does Scott Mayfield (whose contract would likely prove immovable anyway).
Lee and Pageau, it’s worth noting, hold no-trade lists as well, though they cover 15 and 16 teams, respectively.
Nelson and Palmieri also have 16-team no-trade clauses that give them both some leverage over their destinations, if the Islanders indeed decide to move.
Right now, there is a wide berth of options for the Islanders between now and Friday.
There are obvious untouchables — Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat, Ilya Sorokin — and another group of players who it would make little sense to move, since doing so would likely require the Islanders to attach assets.
Dobson, Romanov and Simon Holmstrom — who are restricted free agents this summer — all should be considered parts of the future as well.
This week, however, is a chance to try to remake a group whose essence has been the same for years on end. The fan base is clamoring for change.
The current makeup of the market also favors any team that chooses to sell.
Because so few teams can honestly say they are out of the playoff mix — even the Islanders, who entered Tuesday five points back of a spot, still have at least a slight chance — the players who are made available have fetched strong returns so far.
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That includes Trent Frederic, who went from Boston to Edmonton; Gustav Nyquist, who went from Nashville to Minnesota; and the Ryan Lindgren-Jimmy Vesey package the Rangers sent to Colorado.
Those deals all included a second-round pick in return, with Nyquist being the only one of the three that didn’t also include a fourth-rounder.
Nelson and Palmieri are the most obvious chances for the Islanders to stock up on assets, and it’s believed Nelson would net at least a first-round pick or a solid prospect.
If the Islanders so choose, however, it could go further than that.