Anthony Duclair Was A Fit For Islanders At 2024 Trade Deadline; Still A Fit Now
Winners of five straight heading into the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline and just two games out of a wild-card spot, the New York Islanders seemed to be in the business of adding.
“[The team] said that they’re playing the way they’re capable of playing right now. We’ll have to continue to do that," Lamoriello said three days before the March 8 deadline. "As far as adding, if you can, you do. Are we thinking about subtracting? Absolutely not."
Having under $3 million in available cap space wasn't going to make things easy -- unless pieces were going back the other way -- but there were options.
We here at The Hockey News believed then San Jose Sharks forward Anthony Duclair would have been a strong depth addition for the Islanders for a few reasons.
Duclair, a pending unrestricted free agent, carried a cap hit was $3 million, but there were ways to balance out the money, potentially with pending restricted free agent forward Oliver Wahlstrom ($894,176) going the other way.
Although he had been struggling to produce with San Jose with just 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points in 56 games after being dealt by the Florida Panthers ahead of the 2023-24 season, Duclair brings speed and has a strong hockey IQ, with the ability to play on any line.
He also has no issues crashing the net either, but understands positioning to the highest level, as he finds himself at the right spots at the right times:
Not to mention, Duclair played his junior hockey under Islanders head coach Patrick Roy with the Quebec Remparts, so there was familiarity with the coaching style and expectations.
“He’s a very intense guy,” Duclair said on Roy. "He loves the game, and he has a lot of passion. It’s the same old Pat, I don’t think he’s going to change for anyone.
“But that’s what makes him so successful. Probably when he played, too, he was obviously a passionate guy, and he just really cared about the game. He is a guy who is in the Hall of Fame, has made a bunch of money, and he doesn’t have to come back, but he wants to do it.” (H/t SJ Hockey Now's Sheng Peng).
Duclair appreciated his two years under Roy.
”I was grateful to have that experience, especially at a young age,” Duclair said. “It definitely helped to have a mentor like that coming into junior for sure (H/t) SJ Hockey Now's Sheng Peng).
However, the deadline came and went, and the Islanders decided to stand pat.
“Our players and our team determine what would happen on a day like this,” Lamoriello said post-deadline. “There's no question that I feel good about who we are and where we are certainly at this point.
“We did not feel that we could have upgraded. We weren't interested in making a lateral move.”
Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round pick ended up joining the Tampa Bay Lightning, while San Jose got defenseman Jack Thompson and a 2024 third-round selection.
In the final 17 games of the regular season with Tampa, Duclair shined with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points before just two assists in their five-game first-round loss to the Florida Panthers.
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The Islanders playoffs also ended in the first round, losing in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
They say hindsight is 20-20, as Roy shuffled Simon Holmstrom and Hudson Fasching as second-line wingers in the postseason. Duclair certainly could have helped fill what became a pretty large hole when the lights got brighter.
Duclair will be available yet again come July 1 and likely could be had for $2-$3 million per year on a short-term deal.
The Islanders do have depth options at the NHL level, adding top European free agent Maxim Tsyplakov to a list that includes Fasching, Holmstrom (RFA), Wahlstrom (RFA), Julien Gauthier, and Ruslan Iskhakov (RFA).
While the hope is that Tsyplakov could be a strong middle-six option, he remains a question mark.
Holmstrom, who showed in year two that he can play a strong shutdown role, needs to be more aggressive in battles, especially under Roy.
Fasching, who was a tremendous addition during the 2022-23 season which earned him a two-year extension, struggled to play to his identity in 2023-24.
Gauthier, who brought a much-needed speed to the Islanders' lineup, was sent to Bridgeport to give Wahlstrom a chance to play quickly after Roy's arrival.
But even when Roy moved on from the Wahlstrom experiment after nine games, Gauthier remained in the minors.
Iskahkov, who got into the final game of the regular season and one playoff game, has nasty skills with the puck on his stick but has to prove that he can deal with the physicality that the NHL has to offer.
Duclair and what he brings to a lineup isn't a question mark, and although Islanders fans want the club to add elite talent, we are seeing just how important depth -- particularly depth scoring -- is in the postseason.
It may be a stretch to put Duclair on the top line alongside Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, but the 28-year-old could be a strong fit alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri on the second line.