Source: Islanders Have Inquired About Long-Island Native & Ottawa Senators Forward Shane Pinto
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Because of their lack of salary-cap space, if the New York Islanders are going to bolster their club, it's likely going to be via a trade.
On Sunday, Jimmy Murphy of The Sick Podcast reported that the New York Islanders are one of three teams interested (Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens) in acquiring 23-year-old centerman Shane Pinto from the Ottawa Senators.
The Hockey News can confirm that the Islanders have inquired.
Pinto, who missed the first half of the 2023-24 season due to a gambling suspension, was sent a qualifying offer by the Senators but is likely not to accept and could be on the move with contract negotiations going nowhere.
Pinto, 23, is a star in the making, and Ottawa is about to lose -- if they haven't already -- a ton of leverage.
The Senators and Islanders were linked last summer regarding Alex DeBrincat, who eventually forced his way to the Detroit Red Wings. The belief, originally reported by Newsday's Andrew Gross, is that the Islanders had offered Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom to Ottawa.
Those two could be involved in a potential deal to bring Pinto to Long Island, along with picks.
Wahlstrom, who was given a qualifying offer, could be on the move if an opportunity presents itself.
Getting Pageau's $5 million annual cap hit through 2025-26 contract off the books while getting younger down the middle would be a Lou Lamoriello masterclass.
If the Islanders acquired Pinto, they could sign him to an eight-year extension, but it's more likely that general manager Lou Lamoriello would ink him to a bridge deal, a two-to-three-year deal.
This story will be updated as more info becomes available.
*For fans wanting to know if Pinto grew up an Islanders or a Rangers fan, I asked him that question when the Senators were at UBS Arena, and he said he was a Penguins fan. He's a big Sidney Crosby guy.