Islanders Send Nick Leddy to Detroit in Cap Clearing Trade

The New York Islanders traded Nick Leddy to the Detroit Red Wings in a deal to clear salary-cap space.

The late Friday night deal sent Leddy to Detroit in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft (#52 originally the Edmonton Oilers selection) and forward Richard Panik. Detroit will take 50 percent of Panik’s $2.75 million cap hit, while the Islanders shed all $5.5 million of Leddy’s.

The deal came less than 24 hours before the league-wide 3 p.m. roster freeze on Saturday ahead of Wednesday’s NHL Expansion Draft. If the Islanders didn’t trade Leddy, they were to likely lose him for nothing to Seattle in the expansion draft.