Noah Dobson’s future in Long Island has looked uncertain over the past week. Jim Biringer of RG.org first reported that the New York Islanders could possibly shop their young defenceman in exchange for an elite scorer.
Dobson, 25, was the 12th overall pick in 2018; two behind Evan Bouchard. While having a down year in comparison to his last, Dobson has the potential to be an elite offensive defenceman in the NHL. He has 215 points in 363 games and had 70 points last season on an Islanders team that finished 22nd in goals for. This season, he’s only on pace for 39 points in 73 games, which would be his lowest points tally since his sophomore season.
Aside from his skillset, what makes Dobson an attractive piece for the Oilers is his salary cap hit. He’s only on the books for $4,000,000 this season but is a pending restricted free agent this summer. He’ll likely demand a lot of money, similar to Bouchard, but would the Oilers be willing to spend the assets for a rental piece to then move him again this summer? Dobson is a right-shot defenceman who plays consistent top-four minutes and would be an immediate upgrade over John Klingberg.
The potential Dobson has would lead anyone to believe that trading him is a bad idea. However, it wouldn’t be the first time the Islanders traded a promising defenceman. Of course, Devon Toews spent the first two years in New York before getting moved to the Colorado Avalanche for two second-round picks. Toews is now representing Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off and is a Stanley Cup champion.
Are the Islanders willing to run that risk again in an attempt to gain big assets? Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff doesn’t seem to think so.
“I don’t have any indication that Noah Dobson is available,” said Frank Seravalli on Oilersnation Everyday. “ I don’t understand why, from a New York Islander perspective, he would be available. If you’re trying to reboot this thing and become a team that two or three years from now could be a playoff team, you’re going to need Dobson and you’re going to need (Ilya) Sorokin and you’re going to need (Mathew) Barzal.”“He’s going to be very expensive so you’re going to have to account for that. They should have plenty of room once they start shedding some salaries and tearing things down a little bit. If there’s going to be a defenceman moved (out of New York), I’d think it would be someone like Scott Mayfield or a player like that. Somebody that is on a relatively inexpensive deal.”
Pulling off a Dobson deal was always going to be difficult for the Oilers to execute. While Edmonton would likely have the draft capital to make it work, they don’t have an elite scoring winger to add to the deal. Additionally, Edmonton wants to add talent to their team not remove key pieces. Perhaps they’d be better off shopping for other players on the Islanders like Kyle Palmieri, who Seravalli labelled as another target for Edmonton, or even Mayfield.
With all of that said, you never really know what the New York Islanders are going to do. We are only a couple of years removed from when they acquired Bo Horvat when they weren’t in a playoff spot, nor did it look like they’d find their way into one. So, while the dream seems dead, never say never because only two people know what is going to happen next in Long Island.
“Only Lou and God know” – Frank Seravalli.
