New York Islanders: Buy one, sell one, and keep one as the deadline approaches

The NHL Trade Deadline is rapidly approaching and there will perhaps be no bigger player than the New York Islanders. With an enigmatic general manager and a first place roster (somehow) the Isles are in shap to make a splash.

The New York Islanders will be players by Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline. There is almost no debating that. The Islanders are in a predicament, if you could even call it that. While the Isles are on a roll, and sit atop one of hockey’s hardest divisions, the Islanders need to do something.

The dilemma is that a big reason why the Islanders are in the spot they are in is because Head Coach Barry Trotz has done a brilliant job with what he has. The Islanders didn’t make many splashes this offseason that were note worthy. However, all of them worked out in different ways. The Islanders are simply great with whatever they have.

But on the other side of the spectrum, the Islanders still might be lacking the firepower to be a true threat in the entirely different demon that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Isles are getting away with a lot right now, but might need the scoring threat to get over hump this season. They shouldn’t let a first place run rot away because they failed to get better when everyone else around them was aggressive.

While, none of the above are bad scenarios to have, they both revolve around being a first place team, that does not mean the Islanders do not have decisions to make. While myself and the rest of the Islanders fan base should have full trust in Lou Lamoriello and his savage ways, it is still fun to guess what they will do next.

So, let’s play a little game. While it is safe to assume the Islanders won’t be selling any of their current first team talent at the deadline, that would send a bad message, they still have upcoming free agents that could go.

So, here is my little deadline game. Let’s pick one player the Islanders could sell at the deadline, one player the Islanders should buy at the deadline, and one  player the Islanders should keep.

Please note, this only applies to the Islanders team. Not any of their prospects who are otherwise fair game this deadline, also I am leaning towards focusing more on free agents, not long-term guys making Mathew Barzal off-limits in terms on “keep one.”

Let’s start with keep one.