NYHN Daily: Islanders Trade Targets, Hickey’s Emotional Return & More

The New York Islanders are in Philadelphia tonight to take on the Flyers, as the two teams cap off a three-game mini series. With Islanders captain Anders Lee out for the rest of the season, who should general mananger Lou Lamoriello target? On Saturday, the Islanders welcomed Thomas Hickey back into the lineup for the first time since 2019. These stories and more on today’s daily links!

It’s become clear that the Islanders will need to bring in some help from the outside, and general manager Lou Lamoriello made it clear that the priority is to find a scoring winger before the NHL trade deadline. Here are three players the Islanders should be targeting. (NYI Hockey Now) 

Islanders Thomas Hickey had to go through a lot to get to where he was on Saturday, his first regular-season NHL game since April 4, 2019. But he was back, and on an emotional night, he picked up two assits to help his team to a victory. (NYI Hockey Now)

Could there be a reuinion brewing between Penguins general manager Brian Burke and Anaheim Ducks’ captain Ryan Getzlaf? Will Sami Vatanen be on the move again? In the lates Off the record, we have reason to believe that these moves could happen. (NYI Hockey Now)

The emotional, successful return of Thomas Hickey to the Islanders’ lineup may be a short-lived one. But it still may have long-term implications as the NHL’s April 12 trade deadline approaches writes Andrew Gross. (Newsday)

Even though the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a critical point against the New Jersey Devils, there still needs to be improvement. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

After being a late scratch Saturday night, Sean Couturier is being evaluated by the Flyers and his availability against the Islanders on Monday is unknown. (Philly Hockey Now)

The Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have shared Florida since 1993 but rare has been the instance when anyone outside of the Sunshine State really cared when the two played each other. Florida and Tampa Bay have rarely been good at the same time so, the national spotlight has had no reason to reach this far south. This year is different. (Florida Hockey Now)

Jonas Johansson said he doesn’t like to look back too much in his career. That’s probably a good thing. His career with the Buffalo Sabres didn’t go so well. But now he gets a new start in Colorado. (Colorado Hockey Now)

A Sunday afternoon puck drop is not the norm for the Vegas Golden Knights, and it looked like they forgot their afternoon coffee as it was “too little, too late” in the loss to the Los Angeles Kings. (Vegas Hockey Now)

Bob Boughner was unhappy with the linesman calling Patrick Marleau on a faceoff violation – some San Jose Sharks fans were unhappy with fourth-liner Marleau taking John Leonard’s spot on the second line with Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier at the beginning of the middle frame. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Matt Roy signed a three-year, $9.45 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. It has an average annual value of $3.15 million. (NHL.com)

The Buffalo Sabres returned to practice Sunday, a day after their home game against the Boston Bruins was postponed due to NHL COVID-19 protocol. (NHL.com)

The 2021 NHL Trade Deadline is April 12, and though that’s only three weeks away, most teams are still determining the best way to navigate it with quarantine protocols and a flat NHL salary cap for the foreseeable future. (NHL.com)

Countdown to TradeCentre: How about Subban? Will cap issues lead to a quiet deadline? (TSN.ca)

While Calgary Flames’ defenseman Noah Hanifin is certainly is on track to log several hundred more games, it looks like we’ll finally see an enhanced version of him under Darryl Sutter – one that builds off his already-impressive season to date. (TSN.ca)

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed centre Travis Boyd on waivers Saturday. Boyd has three goals and five assists in 20 games for the Leafs this season. (TSN.ca)