Trades, trades and more trades helped the Islanders build a Stanley Cup contender.
As the New York Islanders get ready to begin an exciting new season with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, it’s always fun to look back at how the team constructed the roster.
Building the roster took years of drafting well, signing the right free agents and dozens of trades.
How trades play out sometimes takes years — and subsequent trades — to fully evaluate. And, in the case of the Islanders, many of the trades and players who will make an impact in the coming season overlap.
In fact, it may take you a moment or two to fully appreciate the trade sequences that led to the current Islanders’ roster. It’s mind-numbing how many players involved in other trades have ultimately led to the current roster.
Here’s how some of the key players landed on the 2021-22 Islanders’ roster. We’ll start if off easy…
Jean-Gabriel Pageau
On Feb. 24, 2020 the Islanders acquired Pageau from the Ottawa Senators for conditional first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft (Ridly Greig), a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft (Roni Hirvonen) and conditional third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Ottawa’s Ridly Greig has been suspended for one preseason game and one regular season game for Cross-checking Winnipeg’s Pierre-Luc Dubois. https://t.co/UCkb3VefXH
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) September 27, 2021
Josh Bailey
On June 20, 2008 the Islanders traded a first-round pick (No. 7 -Colin Wilson) to the Nashville Predators for a first-round pick (No. 9 overall) and a second-round pick in the 2008 NHL Draft (Aaron Ness) The Islanders selected Bailey with the ninth overall selection.
Noah Dobson
On June 24, 2017 the Islanders traded Travis Hamonic and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft (Lucas Feuk) to the Calgary Flames for first- and second-round picks in the 2018 NHL Draft and a conditional second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
The first-round pick from Calgary (No. 12) was used to select Dobson. The second-rounder in 2018 was used to select Ruslan Iskhakov. The second-rounder in 2019 was used to select Samuel Bolduc.
Ilya Sorokin
On March 4, 2014 the Islanders traded Andrew McDonald to the Philadelphia Flyers for Matt Mangene, a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft (Brandon Carlo) and a third-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.
The third-rounder, No. 78 overall, was used to select Sorokin.
Carlo’s rights were later traded to Boston with a conditional third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft for Johnny Boychuk. The second-round pick in 2016 was later shipped to the Rangers and became Ryan Lindgren.
Now we start to get a little crazy…

Mathew Barzal
On Jan. 2, 2015 the Edmonton Oilers traded forward David Perron to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Rob Klinkhammer and Pittsburgh’s first round pick.
That pick, No. 16 overall, was traded from Edmonton to the Islanders with a second-round pick (No. 33 – Mitchell Stephens) for Griffin Reinhart. The Islanders selected Barzal 16th overall.
Anthony Beauvillier
On June 28, 2014 the Islanders traded a third-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft (Juho Lammikko) to Florida for a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
On March 5, 2014, the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers pulled off a blockbuster trade. Tampa sent Martin St. Louis and a conditional second-round pick in 2015 (Oliver Kylington) to the Rangers for Ryan Callahan, a first-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft (Josh-Ho Sang), a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2015 (Ziyat Paigin).
The following year, the Islanders packaged the third-round pick acquired from Florida (which became Anthony Cirelli, No. 72 overall) and the second-round pick acquired from Pittsburgh with the Barzal pick (Stephens) to Tampa for the Rangers’ first-round pick (No. 28 overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft, which the Islanders used to select Beauvillier.

Brock Nelson
On Sept. 12, 2009 the San Jose Sharks traded a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft with Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek to Ottawa for Dany Heatley and a fifth-round pick in 2010. On March 2, 2010 the Senators traded the second-round pick to the Islanders for Andy Sutton.
On June 25, 2010 the Islanders traded two second-round picks (No. 35 – Ludvig Rensfeld and No. 58 – Kent Simpson, originally San Jose’s pick) to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 30th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. The Islanders selected Nelson with pick No. 30.
Keep Simpson’s name in mind…

Casey Cizikas
On June 26, 2009 the Islanders traded a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft (Kyle Palmieri), a second-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft (Mat Clark), a third-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft (Anders Nilsson) and a fourth-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft (Matt Hackett).
Later that day, the Islanders traded the first- and third-round pick acquired from Columbus and a seventh-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft (Erik Haula) to the Minnesota Wild for a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft (used to select Calvin de Haan).
Minnesota selected Nick Leddy No. 16 overall.
The next day, the Blue Jackets traded the Islanders’ third and fourth-round picks back to the Islanders for a second-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft (Kevin Lynch).
The fourth-round pick that changed hands twice in two days, No. 92 overall, was used to select Cizikas.
On Feb. 12, 2010, the Wild traded the rights to Leddy with Kim Johnsson to the Blackhawks for Cam Barker.
On Oct. 4, 2014 the Islanders traded Nilsson (the third-round pick from the trades with Columbus) with TJ Brennan and Ville Pokka to Chicago for Leddy and Kent Simpson, who was drafted by Chicago with a pick from the Islanders in the deal for the pick that landed Nelson.
Kyle Palmieri
The original rights to the pick used to select Palmieri (No. 26 overall in 2009) were owned by the Ottawa Senators. The pick was traded to the Islanders on Feb. 20, 2009 for Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli.
The Islanders traded the pick to Columbus (see above in the trade tree that landed Cizikas). On June 26, 2009 the Blue Jackets flipped the pick — No. 26 overall — to Anaheim with a second-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft (Mat Clark) for a first-round pick in 2009 (No. 21 – John Moore).
The Ducks selected Palmieri 26th overall.
On June 26, 2015 the Ducks trade Palmieri to the Devils for a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft (Ryan Gropp) and a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft (Rem Pitlick).
The two picks the Devils traded to Anaheim were acquired from Florida on Feb. 26, 2015 for Jaromir Jagr.
On April 7, 2021 the Devils traded Palmieri and Travis Zajac to the Islanders for Mason Jobst, AJ Greer, a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
So a pick the Islanders owned for four months in 2009 was used to select Palmieri, who finally put on an Islanders’ sweater almost 12 years later.
Having fun yet?
Cal Clutterbuck & Matt Martin
On Feb. 24, 2012 the Devils traded Nick Palmieri, Kurtis Foster, Stephane Veilleux, a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (Raphael Bussieres) and a third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft to the Minnesota Wild for Marek Zidlicky.
On June 30, 2013 the Wild traded the third-round pick from New Jersey and Clutterbuck to the Islanders for Nino Niederreiter.
The third-round pick in 2013, No. 70 overall, was used to select Eamon McAdam.
On July 3, 2018 the Islanders traded McAdam to Toronto for Matt Martin.
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