New York Islanders: Islanders need to make Brock Nelson tradable

The New York Islanders and Brock Nelson have had an interesting relationship in the past few seasons. However, it might be time to make him tradable.

Since joining the New York Islanders, Brock Nelson has been a staple in the lineup. Even this year, he has been cracking in reps as a top six center.

Although it is encouraging to see Barry Trotz finally giving him a chance, it is interesting to see how it works out.

The Islanders are obviously not the most talented team, but they have an incredibly deep system.

Brock Nelson is tolerable for many reasons, he has a history of staying healthy.

He has played in all eight games this season, 82 last season, and 81 games the year before that.

Having someone prove they are healthy is valuable.

However, what Nelson needs to do is be productive.

The entire top six for the Isles seems to be having a rough go at it this season already.

He only has four points this season. Three of those points are goals.

The Isles have played in eight games. He is a top-six center, yet struggling to consistently produce.

But, the Isles are in a scenario where his value in trading him is ideal.

The Isles have a deep prospect system. Players like Kieffer Bellows, Josh Ho-Sang, and Michael Dal Colle, just to name a few, could all be coming up to the NHL this season.

There is potential to move some of them to center or at least add depth to the lines.

The most important thing about giving Nelson his top six spot this season is that he is getting much-needed reps.

That is going to make him tradable to teams come the deadline. The Isles can use a player like Nelson, who will have experience as a top-six center, and trade him to fulfill what pieces they need to fulfill their vision.

Top centers do not grow on trees and are hard to come by. So, that makes Brock Nelson an asset. He is more an asset for team’s who would be ready to use him.

And at this point, it seems unlikely that Nelson will ever be the top star of this team.

The Isles still have centers on this team now too. So, even looking at it this year alone, they could afford to lose Nelson.

They still have Mathew Barzal. Even Valtteri Filppula is being productive this season in his role generating offense.

The Isles need to get better. They need to build their talent and make them all ready to play in the NHL for the foreseeable future.

We already know what we have in Nelson, and it is expendable.

There will be teams come the deadline that will need to add depth for a playoff run. With it being unlikely that the Isles will be one of them, they should Nelson.

The return could be huge for them.

Also, if the Isles keep him in the top six, or even the top line like he has this season, they could show him off and make his value sky-rocket.

Brock Nelson has not been a terrible Islander by any stretch of the imagination. But he has been through many of the regime changes, and the results have been more or less the same.

He is a slightly above average in the bottom six, but nothing spectacular thus far in the top six.

But the Islanders can keep him there, try to work him to be productive and make him a trade piece by the deadline to get a return.

It is through that, and already knowing they have Barzal, that they can find another center to fill the void.

Or, they could trade him for defense. A brick wall defense doesn’t exactly grow on trees either.