One Last Big Splash

In a season already chock full of blockbuster trades for the New York Islanders, it turns out the team had one last surprise up its sleeve, acquiring star veteran T.J. Oshie from Chicago the day before the EHE Trade Deadline.

Heading the other way were promising defenseman Oliver Kylington and prospect Robert (Bobby) Orr, along with a 2022 third round pick and a 2023 fourth round pick.

Caught for comment on the way to the airport to join his new club, currently in Miami getting set to face the Florida Panthers, Oshie expressed his excitement.

"Sad to be saying goodbye to Chicago, but definitely pumped to be joining a team in a playoff chase," said the American right-winger.

"Obviously Chicago is heading in a direction wasn't exactly ideal for me. At my age a long rebuild is a bit tough to swallow, and honestly it wasn't the most stable place to be a player. I think over the years there was a bit too much satisfaction with just being one-and-done in terms of the playoffs. As a player I have higher ambitions than that.

"Honestly I'm just pumped to get into the fight with my new teammates."

As for those new teammates, they voiced their enthusiasm at the addition of the 2017-18 Stanley Cup winner.

"Yeah as a player you love to be part of an organization that's all-in on winning championships," said longtime Islander Nathan MacKinnon. "I remember T.J. could have easily won the Conn Smythe in Colorado when they went on their run a few years ago, and that's obviously the kind of guy you'll take on your team 10 times out of 10."

Recently-minted captain Ryan McDonagh, meanwhile, was able to offer a first-hand report on the newest Islander.

"It's great for sure, and hopefully this time we can play together for a little longer," laughed McDonagh, Oshie's teammate in Chicago for 25 games earlier in the season. "Obviously we only played together for a couple of months, but we were two of the guys the coaching staff really encouraged to take on a leadership role and I saw how he went about his business with that.

"Can't say enough about the guy in that regard, but obviously he brings a ton of skill on the ice too."

Indeed, Islanders management and fans will be hoping that skill translates to a shot in the arm for a team whose offense sits 21st in the league in goals scored per game. In that regard Oshie's 71 points in 66 games for Chicago offer reason for encouragement, but perhaps more important will be his 16 points on the powerplay--a potential godsend for the Islanders man advantage unit, which ranks an inexplicable 30th overall at just 12.8% efficiency.

However things shake down for Oshie and the Islanders over the final 14 games of the season, it will be interesting to see how, after a stunning 29 trades in 5 months, the team manages now that there can be no more major changes to the roster.

This is the team, and they have only one goal in mind. All that's left is to see if they can reach it.