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Islanders acquire Brayden Schenn.
The New York Islanders have made a bold move to acquire St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported on X that Schenn has agreed to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Islanders.
“Sources say St. Louis Blues are finalizing a trade to move captain Brayden Schenn to the Islanders. … Done deal. Schenn has waived his no-trade to accept the deal to New York,” Seravalli wrote.
According to Darren Dreger, the Islanders will be giving up a first-round pick, a third-round pick, and a prospect.
Schenn is in the sixth year of his eight-year, $52 million deal. He’ll be an impact player for New York and help the team’s playoff push.
The 34-year-old has recorded 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 61 games this season. Schenn will likely serve as New York’s second or third-line center and add some more experience to the roster. He helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019.
Islanders Had Assets to Move
New York has been a surprise team this season in large part due to first overall pick Matthew Schaefer being dominant.
So, ahead of the trade deadline, it was reported that the Islanders were open to trading their first-round pick to add. General manager Mathieu Darche, meanwhile, said nothing is off the table as the team looked to improve.
“If the right deal comes along, absolutely,” said Darche. “Nothing is off the table if I can improve the team. Doesn’t mean I’m going to move a first-round pick by any means but if something makes sense, I’ve got two this summer, I’m not afraid to move one.
“But I won’t move one just to get a name that sounds exciting but doesn’t quite fit just to do it.”
Darche, meanwhile, said he wanted to use the deadline as a chance to reward the players for putting themselves in this position. The Islanders had already acquired Carson Soucy and Ondrej Palat.
“I want to reward the players for putting us in this position to get to the playoffs,” said Darche. “I felt, without being crazy moves, these are two players (Soucy and Palat) that will help us as they push towards the playoffs.”
The Islanders are 35-23-5 and in third place in the Metro division.
Blues Were Main Sellers
Ahead of the trade deadline, St. Louis was one of the main sellers.
The Blues are set to enter a rebuild. So, general manager Doug Armstrong made it clear that the team would look to make some moves.
“I’m not doing this to threaten anybody, but as [former NFL coach] Bill Parcells said, ‘You are what you are,’ and right now we’re 28th in winning percentage, so everything has to be considered and addressed,” Armstrong told, per The Athletic.
“The way the league operates, when we were a highly functioning team, you would call teams that weren’t highly functioning and say, ‘What are you going to do?’ We’re starting to field those calls that we don’t want to field. I can’t stop people from calling, and we’re not doing our due diligence if we’re not listening.”
Ultimately, St. Louis ended up dealing their captain in Schenn in a blockbuster move.
Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton
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