ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Islanders have two first-round picks in the 2026 draft and a decent-sized prospect stable for the first time in years. They have a hair over $6 million in available cap space and had pulled into a tie on points for second place in the Metropolitan Division with five straight wins before Wednesday’s loss to the Ducks.
All this to say: The Islanders are in as good a position to add at Friday’s trade deadline as anyone could have envisioned at the start of the season five months ago. Barring a complete shocker, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee — the guys everyone thought could end up on the trade block this season — are going to stay Islanders through this week.
The question right now is more whether the Islanders can get a trade over the line that really helps them, or whether they end up standing pat. A few thoughts, notes and things to keep in mind as we head into the final 24 hours:
1. Mathieu Darche is calling every GM in the league right now. This isn’t me reporting anything that isn’t obvious. It’s to note that any kind of reporting that centers around “X general manager checked in on Y player” doesn’t really mean anything this time of year. It’s every general manager’s job to be on the phone with 31 other general managers, checking in on every player, constantly.
