Calgary Flames: Hypothetical Trade With Every Team in Metropolitan Division

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders went on a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Final this year. They were propelled by strong goaltending and a suffocating defensive system. Now, they are rumoured to be looking to add some scoring up front but they don’t have a ton of cap space to make such a move.

It would be nice if the Flames could get their hands on one of the Islanders right defencemen. I just don’t see the Islanders moving Ryan Pulock, Scott Mayfield or Noah Dobson right now.

It would be nice if we could just undo the Travis Hamonic trade and get Dobson….

Maybe if Gaudreau was going to the Islanders one of those right D would be on the table, but the Isles have $9 million in cap space and need to re-sign Matthew Barzal, Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews. They need to shed tons of money, but who is taking on Johnny Boychuk or Andrew Ladd? Who’s taking Cal Clutterbuck or Leo Komarov for that matter?

The Isles are going to have to get creative to free up space. One way would be to trade Semyon Varlamov who is fresh off a terrific postseason. This would pave the way for prized rookie Ilya Sorokin to take over the starter’s role. It’s risky, but the Islanders have to move out salary for picks at some point.