It’s not common that trades break after a game has already finished on the day, but with an early start on the Ottawa/Edmonton game, the Islanders and the Devils took the spotlight off the games for the evening, agreeing to a deal to send both Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri to Long Island. Many had speculated that Palmieri would be an excellent fit for the Islanders to fill in the shoes of the injured Anders Lee, and that’s great news for Palmieri owners assuming he is comfortable enough shifting to the left wing. Zajac’s role with his new team isn’t quite as clear, as the Islanders are already very deep at the centre position. As an added bonus, both players are considered ‘local’ so there is no need for a quarantine period before joining the Islanders.

Here’s the full transaction:

New Jersey retaining 50% on both contracts is why the Islanders were able to fit both UFAs under the cap. I’m reasonably confident that this will likely be the only big move the Islanders make, so we can draw a few conclusions now with what the lineup will look like for the rest of the season. Palmieri immediately takes over Lee’s spot on the top power play, and will settle in on Matthew Barzal‘s wing at even strength. Lee was averaging 17:30 of ice time per game, with 2:30 of the total ice time coming with the man advantage. On top of that, he was seeing 60% of his starts in the offensive zone. Palmieri’s stats with the Devils are eerily similar, so the opportunity won’t be a lot different. However, playing alongside Barzal and for a much better team overall, it’s not difficult to connect the dots and think Palmieri’s numbers will at least increase back up to his career norms. That means three shots and over one hit per game, with a points pace approaching 60 for an 82-game slate.

Zajac on the other hand is likely viewed more as veteran depth, and it looks like the best fit will be on the “checking line” alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom. That could cut a few minutes off of his usual ice time, but would likely add some extra short-handed ice time as well. Zajac wasn’t hugely fantasy relevant to begin with, but he’ll lose a lot of his faceoff value, and his scoring value will dip a little further.

Back in New Jersey, neither A.J Greer or Mason Jobst figure to make much of an impact this season, though Greer has been on my radar for a few years as a possible depth bruiser. For those of you in deep leagues looking for truculence, he may be worth a stash.

Of the remaining players, there’s a little more opportunity near the top of the lineup with two big names gone, and Jack Hughes is likely going to be fed ALL of the offensive minutes he can handle now. He could go on a bit of a run to end the year just based off of an increase in opportunity volume. This might also open up some space for Nikita Gusev, but he hasn’t been able to take advantage of anything yet this season, so don’t hold your breath. The overall scoring on the team may struggle a bit (more than it already has) and that may hurt a few of the remaining top power play options such as Ty Smith and Andreas Johnsson.

As a fun aside, Johnsson also now becomes the oldest active forward on the Devils, and he was only born in November of 1994.

Players this helps (in order):

Kyle Palmieri

Jordan Eberle

Jack Hughes

Players this hurts (in order):

Kieffer Bellows

Oliver Wahlstrom

Travis Zajac

Anthony Beauvillier

Ty Smith