Vancouver's Mikheyev Cap-Saving Move Could Be Cost For Islanders To Unload
The SKY -- The NHL's first buyout window is now open, and teams might consider going that route after seeing the confusing costs of unloading contracts.
The New York Islanders, who currently have $5.8 million in available cap space before retaining any of their pending free agents, need to find a way to shed some cap, whether that's via trade or the buyout route, if they want to bolster their club.
The likely buyout candidate is center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who has two years remaining at $5 million annually.
With the emergence of Kyle MacLean, who signed a three-year extension worth $775,000 annually following an energetic first stint in the NHL, and Casey Cizikas on a team-friendly $2.5 million AAV deal through 2025-26, Pageau isn't the need he was when the club acquired him at the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline.
If the Islanders went the buyout route, they would save $2.5 million of the remaining $10 million owed.
Since Pageau is over 26, a buyout would be two-thirds of what is owed ($10 million) at double the years remaining (2).
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But, with New York having an extra second-round pick which they got from the Chicago Blackhawks, why keep Pageau on the books for an extra two years if they can move him, even if they need to retain a bit?
The belief is that Pageau does have positive value, but other teams are well aware of the Islanders' current situation.
While the market for dumping contracts seems to be sporadic—the Red Wings moving middle-pairing defenseman Jake Walman at a reasonable $3.4 million cap hit and a second-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in a head-scratcher—a trade on Wednesday serves as a good comparison for what moving Pageau could look like.
The Vancouver Canucks, who are expected to be a key player in the Jake Guentzel sweepstakes, dealt forward Ilya Mikheyev and his $4.5 million cap hit through 2025-26, the rights to unrestricted free agent forward Sam Lafferty, and a 2027 second-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
Vancouver also retained 15 percent of Mikheyev's deal ($712,500).
Pageau's contract at 15 percent retained is $750,000.
Mikheyev, 29, had 11 goals with 20 assists in 78 games this past season, while Pageau, 31, had 11 goals and 22 assists in 82 games.
Although the two are completely different players, they both have a rather high cap hit for their production.
The difference between the two is that Pageau is established in this league, so teams know what they are getting more or less, while Mikheyev is a reclamation project.
That's why the Mikheyev package may be too rich of an ask for whatever team -- if there's a team -- that has interest in Pageau.
But the ball isn't in the Islanders' court. The Islanders also don't have to move Pageau.
It would be a different story if Pageau was entering the final year of his deal.
As we saw in the Mikeyeve trade, the Islanders could attach the rights to one of their pending RFAs, like Oliver Wahlstrom or Ruslan Iskhakov.
The Islanders acquired an extra second-round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks at the end of May, dropping down two spots in the first round, so they have the necessary pick as well to mimic this latest trade.
The 2024 NHL Draft begins this Friday, with NHL Free Agency opening this upcoming Monday, July 1.