NHL: Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs
NEW YORK (77 WABC) — The New York Islanders are shooting their shot.
The Islanders acquired Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the Ottawa Senators in a trade on Monday just hours before the NHL Trade Deadline. The sizable deal helps bolster the Islanders’ lineup heading into the home stretch of the season, with the team a point back of the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division.
In return, the Islanders sent the Senators a conditional first-round pick this year, their second-round pick in this year’s draft and a conditional third-round pick in 2022.
The Islanders locked Pageau into a six-year contract extension hours after the trade. Rumblings began to surface around noon that the two sides were close to working out a new deal.
Pageau is in the final year of a three-year contract and could not come to terms on an extension with the Senators, which facilitated Monday’s trade.
Pageau is in the middle of a career year with 24 goals and 40 points in 60 games. He also brings a 52.2 percent career average in the faceoff circle and nine power-play points this season.
The deadline acquisition is the Islanders’ biggest since they traded for Ryan Smyth at the 2007 NHL Trade Deadline.