NYHN Daily: Islanders Get Devilish Duo, Other Trade Rumors & More

The New York Islanders host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight as they meet for the seventh time this season. Yesterday, the Islanders made the first big splash of this trade deadline season. Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello brought in Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the Devils in an effort to help counteract Anders Lee’s absence and then some. The Islanders encouraged but did not mandate their players to get the COVID-19 vaccine. These stories and more on today’s daily links!

The New York Islanders pulled off a blockbuster deal Wednesday night to bring Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac to Long Island. This trade marked the second time Lamoriello has dealt with New Jersey to improve the Islanders near the trade deadline. Last season Lamoriello traded for defenseman Andy Greene prior to the deadline. (NYI Hockey Now)

The pair come to the Island as a duo of versatile forwards that can help the Islanders in several different areas of their game and gives head coach Barry Trotz more flexibility with his lineup. What are the best options? (NYI Hockey Now)

The New York Islanders, like many other professional sports organizations, is being thrust into the conversation over whether or not to have their players get the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s a conversation that is being had by companies as well as individual people, especially as states open up the vaccine to more and more people. (NYI Hockey Now)

Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has pulled the trigger on his big trade deadline move, adding a pair of veteran forwards. Let’s get into some questions in the wake of this go-for-it Isles moment. (The Athletic)

The Islanders acquired the scoring wing they’ve sought since captain Anders Lee suffered a season-ending knee injury. And they also wound up adding depth at center, giving coach Barry Trotz strong flexibility among his top-nine forwards. (Newsday)

According to numerous NHL sources over the past week and on Wednesday night, now-former New Jersey Devils winger Kyle Palmieri was the primary target for the Boston Bruins heading into the NHL Trade Deadline next Monday. Well, that target is off the NHL Trade market as of 7:51 PM ET Wednesday night. (Boston Hockey Now)

Sidney Crosby on Wednesday wanted no part of responding to or rebutting less than flattering comments from one of his longtime on-ice nemeses, Brandon Dubinsky. With interview restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there had not been an opportunity to ask Crosby about Dubinsky last week calling Crosby someone who ”whined” and pointing to fellow star Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals as handling himself better. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

The Philadelphia Flyers are quickly losing hope in the playoff race. After an overtime loss to the Islanders and just Monday night’s overtime win in the home-and-home with the Bruins, they sit five points behind Boston with 18 games to play. The Flyers’ trade deadline plans may hinge on this week. There’s one player that teams would love to pry away from Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers: Scott Laughton. (Philly Hockey Now)

Matt Kiersted does not appear to be an ordinary rookie defenseman for the Florida Panthers. Only a week ago, he was deciding which NHL team he was going to sign with after his collegiate career at North Dakota had come to an end in the longest NCAA game ever. On Thursday, he officially signed with the Panthers; by Saturday night, he made his NHL debut. By Sunday, he was on the ice in the third period of a game against Columbus while veteran Keith Yandle, for the most part, was not. (Florida Hockey Now)

With the NHL trade deadline fast approaching on Monday at 3 pm ET, there are a lot of names being thrown around the trade rumor mill. The Vegas Golden Knights are in a nice position with a very good team, but could always stand to improve if the offer is right. That said, here are the Top Five Players the VGK should avoid at all costs. (Vegas Hockey Now)

The Colorado Avalance look back on game 82 of the 2018 regular season. It came down to the wire but their win put them into the playoffs for the first time in four years. (Colorado Hockey Now)

After last night’s lifeless 5-1 loss to the last-place Anaheim Ducks, the San Jose Sharks are now five points behind fourth-place Arizona Coyotes. It’s worth remembering how the Sharks found themselves in the hole in the first place. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Henrik Lundqvist said he hopes to resume playing in the NHL after recovering from open-heart surgery, but the Washington Capitals goalie’s future will depend on his next examination later this month. (NHL.com)

Should experienced defenseman Marc Staal be a target for Flyers? He has a connection to head coach Alain Vigneault from their time with the Rangers. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

The Columbus Blue Jackets have lost another trade chip as news dropped on Wednesday that forward Boone Jenner will miss the remainder of the season due to a broken finger. (NHL Trade Rumors)

The NHL trade deadline is only 5 days away and it seems that this may be one of the quietest deadlines in recent memory. There are only a few players that seem destined for a new address come Monday, but the Buffalo Sabres’ Taylor Hall is nearly a lock to be moved. Hall’s career may come full circle with a reunion with the team that drafted him first overall in Edmonton. (NHL Trade Rumors)

When Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas acquired Alex Galchenyuk from the Carolina Hurricanes he knew there would be a chance the young journeyman would find his game with his hockey team and that’s certainly been the case. Because of Galchenyuk’s strong play, Dubas no longer is working day and night to find another top-six forward and is exploring other trades. (NHL Trade Rumors)

The Capitals have placed Richard Panik on waivers. Should he clear, he will rejoin the team on the taxi squad. Richard Panik had a cap-hit of 2.75mil AAV. By rule, waving a player only clears up to $1.075 million of his cap hit so that’s how much space the capitals have essentially created. This could be nothing OR this could be an indication that the Capitals are exploring options as the April 12th trade deadline rapidly approaches. (Hockey Buzz)

As the Nashville Predators hurtle towards Monday’s trade deadline, they have had their “definite seller” label revoked. But the question is, are they now considered buyers? Let’s take a look at that. (Hockey Buzz)