Significant issue arises in Nazem Kadri’s rumoured deal in New York

We are still waiting on Nazem Kadri. He remains the most coveted unrestricted free agent forward on the market, and recently, rumours emerged that the New York Islanders could be his landing spot.

However, the Islanders need to make room for him. There’s been a sense since the opening of free agency that Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello is targeting Kadri as he looks to make a significant addition to bolster his club’s offense. With $11 million in salary-cap space for 2022-23, the Islanders are in good position though they must however re-sign restricted free agent defensemen Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov. Kadri could command around $8.5 million per season…

While we’ve seen other GMs pull trade to make room on their cap, Lamoriello could find it difficult to dump salary with teams knowing it’s to make room for Kadri.

However, Stefen Rosner of NYI Hockey Now believes that Lamoriello is attempting to trade Josh Bailey, who carries a $5 million annual cap hit through 2023-24. Rosner wonders if the Arizona Coyotes or Chicago Blackhawks could look to add Bailey, who could do wonders for a rebuilding team. On top of that, he did manage to put up 44 points last season and lacks no-trade protection, giving Lamoriello plenty of potential trade partners.

However, the Islanders might need to add a sweetener or two in a trade for Bailey, especially since interested teams will know Lamoriello is going after Kadri. Lou might need to add a couple of draft picks or a prospect in the deal to move Bailey… If the Islanders cannot make room to sign Kadri to the lucrative deal he is looking for, this might come up as a huge problem and the unrestricted free agent could look elsewhere while losing money as other teams have signed other players in the meantime... 

The Islanders are a win-now team and could be the ones with a deal in place with Kadri, telling him they are making room to get him signed as soon as possible.

And so fans are not only in Kadri watch but also on a trade watch in New York.