Former Islanders Headline NHL Trade Deadline Deals

The NHL trade deadline has come and passed without the New York Islanders making any moves.

But while it was a silent deadline for the Islanders and the players who currently wear the team’s sweater, there was plenty of movement around the league involving those who used to don the blue and orange.

Anthony Beauvillier Traded To Nashville:

Anthony Beauvillier is on the move once again.

After a brief pit stop in Chicago, the former 28th overall pick by the Islanders in the 2015 NHL draft is heading to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

The Islanders sent Beauvillier to the Vancouver Canucks last year as part of the deal that brought Bo Horvat to Long Island, but his stay in Vancouver was short-lived. Back in November, the Canucks flipped him in a deal with the Blackhawks.

In 45 games between Vancouver and Chicago this season, Beauvillier has 14 points with four goals.

Now, Beauvillier is on the move for the third time in 14 months. This time, he will be reunited with his former Islanders head coach, Barry Trotz, in Nashville.

The Predators currently have 75 points and hold the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference. The addition of Beauvillier is a low-risk, high-reward type of move that can provide them with depth scoring come the playoffs if they get there.

The Islanders will face Trotz, Beauvillier and the Predators when Nashville visits UBS Arena on April 6.

Kyle Okposo Traded To Florida:

Kyle Okposo has been in the NHL for over a decade and a half but hasn’t competed in the playoffs since he was last with the Islanders eight years ago.

That will all change this season after the Buffalo Sabres traded the veteran forward to the Florida Panthers for Swedish defense prospect Calle Själin and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

After spending the first nine years of his career with the Islanders, Okposo signed in Buffalo as a free agent in the summer of 2016 and took over as the team’s captain last season.

However, Okposo experienced little success while with the Sabres, who’ve missed the playoffs in each of the last eight years and likely will once again this season. As he heads to Florida, he’ll have a legitimate chance to chase his first Stanley Cup as the Panthers lead the league with 90 points.

Okposo won’t return to Long Island again this season, but the Islanders will face their former teammate when they travel to South Florida on March 28.

In 61 games this season, Okposo has 22 points with 12 goals.

Jordan Eberle Signs Extension With Seattle:

Jordan Eberle is no stranger to being traded, and some anticipated his name would be involved in a deal at this year’s deadline.

But following months of speculation of where he’d be traded, Eberle is staying put after signing a two-year contract extension with the Seattle Kraken worth $4.75 million annually.

Eberle was in the final year of his five-year contract with Seattle, one he originally signed with the New York Islanders back in 2019.

Eberle joined the Islanders via a trade with the Edmonton Oilers in 2017. Across four seasons with the Islanders, Eberle amassed 169 points with 76 goals, helping the Islanders reach consecutive Stanley Cup semifinals in 2020 and 2021.

It was after that playoff run in 2021 the Islanders left Eberle exposed in the NHL Expansion Draft, where the Kraken picked him with the 12th pick.

In three seasons with Seattle since, Eberle has accumulated 144 points with 55 goals. This season, he has totaled 37 points with 14 goals in 58 games.

Parker Wotherspoon Signs Extension With Boston:

After seven years in the Islanders organization, defenseman Parker Wotherspoon seems to have found a home with the Boston Bruins.

Wotherspoon signed with the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent last summer and will be sticking in Boston for another year after inking a one-year extension worth $800,000 on Friday.

Serving mostly in a depth role, Wotherspoon has stepped up and adequately filled in on a Boston blue line that has dealt with its fair share of injuries this season.

Wotherspoon has six assists in 32 games this season.

Islanders Pick Changes Hands In Leafs/Caps Deal:

When the Islanders acquired Pierre Engvall from the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of last year’s NHL trade deadline, they gave up their third-round pick in the 2024 draft.

That pick is changing hands again, as it’s now in the possession of the Washington Capitals.

Toronto sent the pick to Washington on Friday, along with Chicago’s fifth-round selection in next year’s draft, to acquire defenseman Joel Edmundson from the Capitals.

Although the Islanders don’t own their third-round pick in this year’s draft, they are still in possession of their first-round pick after the dust has settled following the deadline.

The Islanders haven’t made a first-round selection since 2019, as team president/general manager Lou Lamoriello has traded four first-round selections over the last five years.

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