Islanders Pushed to Take ‘a Chance on’ 6-Time 30-Goal Scorer

If there’s one thing the New York Islanders still need ahead of the 2024-25 season, it’s goal scorers.

Needless to say, those aren’t always easy to come by in a cap league like the NHL. Sometimes, you have to get creative.

After surveying the free agent market, Islanders beat reporter Stefen Rosner singled out an “intriguing” buy-low target for NYI to look into. Former five-time All Star Max Pacioretty.

“The former Montreal Canadiens captain has been through hell and back regarding injuries, tearing his right Achilles in 2021-22 before returning to just tear it immediately again in 2022-23,” Rosner first acknowledged. He also pointed out that the Islanders do not currently have a lot of cap space to work with — “around $25,000” if Simon Holmstrom accepts his qualifying offer.

That’s part of the reason a low-risk flyer on Pacioretty could make sense.

The 35-year-old has posted 30 or more goals in six NHL seasons. And while it’s unlikely he puts up that sort of total in New York, that doesn’t mean the hardened veteran cannot bring something helpful to the table.

“Pacioretty can still send home the pucks that need to be sent home,” Rosner argued within his column, “and that’s been an issue for the Islanders, specifically from their depth forwards.”

He concluded that “at a low cap hit on a one-year deal, [a Pacioretty signing] not only may help the Islanders now but would allow the Islanders’ young forward prospects another year to grow, the same way Mike Reilly coming back on a one-year deal may serve as a stop-gap for defense prospects like Isaiah George and Calle Odelius.”

Does Max Pacioretty Have Anything Left in the Tank?

When it comes to Pacioretty, the obvious question is whether or not he’s still capable of scoring at a worthwhile level — even if he’s no longer an All Star.

Pacioretty was able to skate for 51 contests with the Washington Capitals last season, including the playoffs. Over that span of games, he only scored four times.

“I never had a year where I didn’t score a lot of goals, and so that was new for me,” Pacioretty admitted candidly during his exit interview. Calling it a “moral victory” to return from multiple Achilles tears, but also a “hard” reality for him, nonetheless.

His last All-Star campaign came with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020-21 (24 goals and 27 assists in 48 games). Of course, even his 2021-22 output would be acceptable on a bargain-bin contract (19 goals and 18 assists in 39 games).

Pacioretty did rack up 19 regular season assists with the Capitals last year, but he was a detrimental -14 on the ice. At the end of the day, the Isles would have to consider whether the potential pros outweigh the cons in the case of Pacioretty.

Islanders ‘Inquired’ About Nikolaj Ehlers Trade With Jets

Another name that’s been floated around for the Islanders is Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers — a player New York “inquired” about ahead of the NHL draft according to The Hockey News and Rosner.

First off, Ehlers is younger at 28 years old. He’s also more expensive than someone like Pacioretty with a cap hit of $6 million in 2024-25, not to mention you’d have to both trade for him and extend him. A much taller task for the Islanders at the moment.

In terms of his resume, Ehlers has never quite lived up to his draft status despite turning into a solid NHL point scorer.

Ehlers has yet to achieve a 30-goal campaign, but he’s much more likely to give the Islanders 20-plus goals as he’s done seven out of his nine seasons in Winnipeg — considering age and injury history. The former first rounder is also coming off the second-highest point total (61) of his career in 2023-24.

“The asking price around and during the draft may have been too high for opposing teams,” Rosner relayed on July 6. “Winnipeg may have believed that once certain teams missed out on their No. 1 free agent options, they could start a bidding war for their prized possession.”

Now, it’s possible the Jets either keep Ehlers, or sell him off for less than what was initially anticipated. Rosner also reported that the division-rival Carolina Hurricanes have shown heavy interest in the Jets forward since the draft.