The first major deal of the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline has landed, and while it is a big move, it should not come as much of a shock. The New York Islanders, seeking a replacement for the scoring and leadership lost by captain Anders Lee’s season-ending injury, have added both in a trade with the Devils, acquiring veteran forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac. The trade, as first reported by The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, marks the second season in a row that the Isles have acquired a career-Devil from their cross-town rivals, as Zajac will reunite with long-time teammate Andy Greene in New York. Both Palmieri and Zajac are immediately available to the Islanders due to their nearby locale and are expected to join the team tomorrow.
As one can imagine, the trade return for the Devils is substantial, even in a buyer’s market. In exchange for their two core forwards and 50% retention on both salaries, New Jersey receives the Islanders’ 2021 first-round pick, a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick, and young forwards A.J. Greer and Mason Jobst. The conditions one the second pick is as follows: if New York reaches the Stanley Cup Final this season, the fourth-rounder becomes a third-rounder and the Devils can choose if they would like it to be in the 2022 or 2023 draft.
This trade obviously has the fingerprints of Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello all over it. The veteran executive was the GM of the Devils when Zajac was drafted in 2004. He tried to re-acquire the two-way center last season, but Zajac would not waive his No-Movement Clause. This time around, with his contract set to expire, Zajac is willing to finally move on from the Devils in pursuit of a Stanley Cup, especially when he’ll be joined by some familiar faces. After giving up a second-round pick for Greene last year, Lamoriello did not hesitate to go back to the well in New Jersey and offer up a first for Zajac and Palmieri. He also may have played to the home crowd somewhat, adding a Long Island native in Palmieri. The 78-year-old GM is all in this year, and making the fans happy along the way.
Just what are the Islanders getting in this deal? For starters, they are adding over 1,600 NHL games of experience to the lineup, an element that can’t be understated for a contender. It certainly will help to make up for the loss of Lee in the leadership department. Offensively, neither Palmieri nor Zajac have been at their best this season, but they are still top-five scorers for the Devils with 15 goals and 35 points between them. Palmieri was considered one of the top targets on the market even in a down season and playing with any of the Islander’s three top-notch centers, especially Mathew Barzal, should help his scoring to improve. Zajac is the perfect fit for head coach Barry Trotz’ conservative system as a smart, measured, two-way forward. Where exactly he fits in the lineup on a deep roster remains to be seen. The Islanders will have to figure out what works best with their many possible line combinations, but for now Palmieri and Zajac will bump Oliver Wahlstrom and Kieffer Bellows from the active roster. An underrated part of this trade from the Islanders standpoint is the retained salary. With only half of Palmieri’s and Zajac’s contracts contributing to the cap payroll, the Devils are still left with about $3MM in Long-Term Injured Reserve space, enough room to make another acquisition if they so choose.
As for the Devils, they land a coveted first-round pick – an asset that is expected to be hard to come by for sellers this season. GM Tom Fitzgerald knew that the Islanders had no second-rounder to spare because he had already acquired last season in the Greene deal, so knew a first-rounder would have to be in play if the Islanders wanted Palmieri. Adding Zajac and retaining salary certainly helped the cause, but in the big picture it is well worth it to add another top prospect to the New Jersey rebuild. As for the players in the package, they aren’t flashy names or long-term building blocks, but could be nice depth additions if the Devils decide to hold on to them. Jobst has yet to get going in the pros with 15 points in 50 AHL games, but was a Hobey Baker candidate at Ohio State and scored at will in his college career. Undersized and already 27 years old, Jobst isn’t exactly a prospect and is on an expiring contract, but could be a good depth forward if New Jersey gives him a chance to translate his game to the top level. Greer, 24, was a second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2015 and already has 37 NHL games and over 200 AHL games to his credit. Greer plays with size and energy but has also shown a scoring touch in the minors, making him a valuable substitute who can contribute in any role. The impending RFA has not proven himself to be an NHL regular just yet, but should have an opportunity with New Jersey down the stretch to prove he is worth a new contract and an extended look.
What a absolute steal of a deal for Lou and the Isles! How did he pull that off?
By giving up a lot of assets?
Exactly. People hype up Lou way too much. Remember hearing the same thing about Andy Greene last year. Yeah they gave up a 2nd round pick for a 37 year old Dman with 3 points.
A move that many seem to forget is when I recruited Fulton Reed to the Mighty Ducks to take a run at the district 5 championship. The man had a heck of a slap shot and served as our gritty leader.
Maybe Lou has watched my documentaries on how to build a team.
Steal? Seems like an overpayment for a first round defeat.
This trade makes very little sense for the Isles to me.
Barzal then Nelson then Pageau then Cizikas…which center is Zajac displacing?
Eberle and Barzal have chemistry. As do Nelson and Bailey. Is Palmieri coming to play on the third line? Or are they going to play a right shot RW on the left side?
They could have gotten better fits at a lower cost.
Adding weapons at the deadline is never a bad idea. And a lower cost? They gave up one first round pic and pretty much a half used roll of sock tape for two very competent top six/nine players.
Agreed. Ita a good deal for NYI. They can play with line combos to find they right fit as needed, but they now have some real offensive talent to go with that smothering defense. This will be a team to take seriously in the playoffs.
“Adding weapons at the deadline is never a bad idea…unless you have nowhere to play them…and it messes up the chemistry of the team that made the trade.” – 2013 Jarome Iginla
Ahhh the old don’t worry boys not a single injury will happen so no need to add talent
Anyone can always move to the wing ya know
Adding one aging veteran trying to win a cup before retiring is hardly the same thing as adding a top six winger with some prime years left and a serviceable top 9 center veteran for pennies on the dollar.
Can’t find anyone here saying they shouldn’t add talent. They could have gotten additional talent at positions they actually need, likely at a lower cost.
It’s possible that this is the only first round pick moved.
I do like Palmieri as a RW3 (like Kessel in 2016) if that is what they do. If he’s a LW for them, no.
The Isles are built on chemistry. This risks it.
“Adding one aging veteran trying to win a cup before retiring is hardly the same thing as adding a top six winger with some prime years left and a serviceable top 9 center veteran for pennies on the dollar.”
Can’t find anyone here saying they are the same thing.
The question is whether moving a career RW to LW is a good idea with a short window to adjust and whether disrupting the chemistry of a team that is firing on all cylinders to shake up two lines is risky.
The Isles are a team that is more than the sum of their parts based on buy in and understanding of Trotz’s system. They now have to learn it.
Both are rental players that will have only a couple of weeks to mesh with a new team. In a normal season with a normal deadline, would be a better deal as the players would have a lot longer time to work with teammates before the playoffs start. A good return for NJ for 2 guys who are going to be UFA in a couple of weeks anyway.
I heard ANYONE was on the C V protocol list and he may not be available for another two weeks…. My sources are usually accurate.
Great deal for Lou and the Devils turning two expiring contracts into 4 young assets. If the Isles make a deep playoff run and both players contribute, hard not to call it a win for their side too.
This seems awful for New Jersey to me.
It is, except they weren’t going to be able to extend Palmieri anyway. It’s rebuild time
They got a first round pick for two guys they were a few weeks away from losing for nothing. What’s not to like?
Other than Taylor Hall putting the team on his back, and making the playoffs in 18’… It’s been “rebuild time” since they lost in the Stanley Cup.
WHAT THE!!! IM SO HAPPY
I’m a little surprised that the Devils didn’t get a prospect with a little more upside than Greer & Jobst after they retained 50% of the salaries. I’m not sure how the Isles make this work cap space wise. Even with Lee on LTIR, this trade puts them well over the salary cap. Capfriendly has them with a cap hit of 87,911,466 (and that’s with Lee on LTIR). That well above cap ceiling of 81.5 million.
Capfriendly is notorious for not including retained salary in its calculations, meaning it is counting the full salaries of both when you view it (could have been fixed/updated since your post but I see inaccuracies like that all the time).
I tend to think it will be Komarov getting bumped from the lineup, not Wahlstrom.
But as for Bellows, that’s the mindblowing part of this trade. I would have thought for sure that’s who the Devils would have gotten in a deal like this, but not so. Brilliant trade by Lou.
The Bruins couldn’t beat the Isles before… now they added Palmeiri so the upcoming back to back should be a nice double loss.