The next few games are some of the most important of the Islanders’ season, which feels strange to write after the NHL has spent the past few weeks in hibernation.
It is true, though, and for a simple reason: There are five games left until the trade deadline, and the Islanders are returning to their season with a four-point cushion over the Blue Jackets.
General manager Mathieu Darche could justifiably go any of three ways at the deadline: buying, standing pat or doing some combination of buying and selling.
Being full-on sellers would be highly unlikely barring some sort of catastrophe over the next week, and the buying-and-selling route doesn’t feel too probable either, unless a perfect deal falls into Darche’s lap for Jean-Gabriel Pageau. At this point, the Islanders are far more likely to view Pageau and Anders Lee as self-rentals at the deadline, and make a decision on extending them at some point down the line.
