Reinforcements Arrive

In a flurry of deals last week, the New York Islanders made a clear statement that they are all-in on 2024-25.

That's hardly shocking, given how aggressive the Isles have always been under the Kyle Phillips regime. 

By all accounts, however, this season found the front office taking a more reserved approach on the trade market, as they waited to see if yet another splashy off-season would add up to on-ice results.

Well the wait is over, as apparently a 22-4-4 record through 30 games was enough to justify some wheeling and dealing.

To kick things off, the Isles made two deals in quick succession, sending defenseman Connor Murphy (signed as an unrestricted free agent in the off-season) to Ottawa in exchange for the Senators' 3rd-round pick in 2026, along with the St. Louis Blues' 5th-round selection in 2025.

Seven hours later, in a pre-arranged deal, the Islanders sent their own 3rd round picks in both 2025 and 2026 to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for pending UFA defender Matt Roy.

Taken together, the two moves made some sense, with Roy representing an upgrade over Murphy at the expense of two years of player control, the $3.5 million cash bonus given to Murphy in December, and moving down two rounds at the 2025 draft.

More importantly, however, the deals also netted the Islanders $2.75 million in cap space—a boon for a front office that had been working with a payroll that was just $90,000 below the EHE salary cap.

Naturally, Phillips and his staff went right to work turning that newfound financial flexibility into action, seeking to bolster the team's forward depth. According to insiders, the Islanders had conversations with at least five teams around the league, but sealed their third deal in 72 hours by grabbing right winger Troy Terry from the New Jersey Devils.

It was a surprising deal in many respects, not least of which was the acqusition cost of two 2025 2nd round picks plus a 2026 1st round pick—a significant price by any measure. Moreover, bringing in another high-end scoring forward (Terry had posted 28 points in 30 games with the Devils) would seem to be somewhat redundant for an Islanders team that was averaging over 4 goals per game at the time of the trade.

Perhaps most surprising of all, however, was that the 27-year-old Terry came available for futures in the first place, given that the Devils are just two seasons removed from a President's Trophy campaign, and find themselves in the chase for a playoff spot again this year.

Whatever the case, with Terry carrying a $3.5 million cap hit, it was a trade the Islanders couldn't have executed just three days ago.

"Funny enough, [the trade for Terry] came together really quickly in the end compared to the first two, where we were in conversation for quite some time," said Phillips.

"We definitely wanted to gain some cap space to open up our options as the season went along, and we weren't necessarily expecting to find a fit right away. But when Troy's name came up as a possibility in talks with Ryan [Knedel], we felt it was a unique opportunity and we had to move aggressively."

Indeed, as a pending RFA with four and a half seasons of team control, Terry fits the age profile of an Islanders club that is firmly in the middle of its ostensible championship window.

His new teammate, Matt Roy, falls on the other end of the spectrum of course, given that he is set to hit the open market in the coming off-season.

Phillips, however, seemed satisfied with how things came together.

"We think Matt and Terry really raise the floor for our team, and adding them to the group gives our coaching staff a ton of quality options for shaping their lineup every night.

"On top of that, this sends an important message to our guys in the room. They've held up their end of the bargain this year, and as a management team, we felt that put the onus on us to do the same. 

"These trades are a reflection of that."