While there has been strong trade interest in Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, it doesn’t appear as if he’s in play. Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the Isles have informed teams that they won’t be moving the 32-year-old. The 32-year-old is coming off one of his better years offensively after tallying 42 points in 79 games while winning nearly 60% of his faceoffs. A capable checker, Pageau will be entering the final year of his contract next season on a deal that carries a $5MM cap charge. Given the lack of depth in the center market, New York likely would have been well-positioned to land a return of some value for Pageau’s services but it appears now that they’ll hold onto him and potentially reassess his situation closer to the trade deadline in March.
Islanders Rumors
Islanders Select Matthew Schaefer First Overall
As expected, the New York Islanders have selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the first overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft. Schaefer is the first defenseman chosen first overall since Owen Power in 2021, and only the sixth defenseman to achieve this since the 1992 NHL Draft, when the Ottawa Senators selected Chris Phillips.
Despite playing on the opposite side of the blue line, Schaefer’s presence at the top of the draft order made trading Noah Dobson all the more palatable for the Islanders. They’ll now have a younger defenseman with a higher ceiling, while acquiring additional assets in return.
Still, Schaefer is not your typical first overall selection, and there’s no questioning that the Islanders are making a gamble. Due to a broken collarbone suffered during the 2024-25 World Junior Championships, Schaefer finished the season with seven goals and 22 points in 17 games with the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Having that level of injury concern is never ideal entering your draft year, but a collarbone fracture shouldn’t carry any long-term issues. His talent speaks for itself, and that’s the exact reason he was chosen as this summer’s top selection.
Due to his lack of playing time throughout the 2024-25 season, Schaefer becomes an exercise in scouting raw talent for the NHL level. Without any shadow of a doubt, he has the capabilities to become a top-pairing defenseman long term.
In their 2025 NHL Draft Guide, Elite Prospects broke down Schaefer’s talent perfectly, saying:
“Schaefer controls games from the back end, making the play flow through him. An elite puck-rusher, he takes off from behind his net, using it as a shield against the forecheck, and traverses the defensive zone with a few long strides. He spots teammates in every direction, making both one-touch plays and elaborate, deceptive feeds. Attacking down, he grabs the spotlight and draws opponents to him, before turning and relaying the puck across.“
Islanders Offered Dobson For Marner Last Deadline
The opening day of the 2025 NHL Draft got off to a quick start earlier today when the New York Islanders traded defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens for Emil Heineman and a pair of first-round picks. If the Islanders’ old General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, had it his way, Dobson would have already been wearing a different Canadian team’s uniform.
It stands to reason that the Islanders may have known Dobson was out of their price range on a long-term extension for some time, and the new administration faced similar issues as the last. At any rate, the Islanders now have approximately $21MM in cap space entering the offseason without a big-ticket extension on their horizon.
Canadiens Acquire, Extend Noah Dobson From Islanders
The Montreal Canadiens are set to acquire high-scoring defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, per NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes. The deal was later confirmed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who shares that the Islanders signed Dobson to a maximum-term, eight-year contract before moving him to Montreal. That extension will carry a total value of $76MM, or an annual average value of $9.5MM.
In return, the Islanders will receive both of Montreal’s draft picks in the 2025 first-round – picks 16 and 17 – as well as forward prospect Emil Heineman, per Friedman.
After multiple days of rumors, Montreal has landed the big fish in high-end scorer Dobson. The move will give Montreal more oomph to an already high-octane offensive group manning their blue-line. Dobson managed a career-year at the age of just 24 during the 2023-24 campaign, when he managed 10 goals and 70 points in 79 games. He became the first Islanders defenseman since Stanley Cup-winner Denis Potvin to reach the 60-assist mark.
That breakout performance was a gradual ramp-up after Dobson managed 13 goals and 51 points in 2021-22, and 13 goals and 49 points in 2022-23. He’s climbed the ranks of offensive output and reached double-digit goals in every full season of his NHL career. That includes reaching 10 goals again this year, though his point total took a surprising tumble to 39 points in 71 games played.
That sudden spike in scoring, and a fall to a minus-16 after posting a plus-12 last year, brought out many skeptics to Dobson’s overall upside. But it’s worth noting that New York scored the fifth-fewest goals in the NHL this season (222), 23 fewer than they managed in Dobson’s breakout campaign in 2024. A bulk of that decrease can be attributed to Islanders’ star forward Mathew Barzal missing all but 30 games of this season, after leading the Islanders in scoring in 2023-24.
Dobson’s scoring totals are near-second-to-none in the league. He ranks fifth among U25 defensemen in total goals scored over the last five seasons (49), behind Cale Makar (104), Rasmus Dahlin (70), Evan Bouchard (54), and Quinn Hughes (51). Dobson also ranks sixth in total points (223) behind Makar (378), Hughes (353), Dahlin (275), Adam Fox (266), and Bouchard (237).
But Dobson’s defensive prowess remains scrutinized. Among the same sample – U25 defenders over the last five years – only seven players have been on the ice for more goals-against than Dobson’s 346. He’s also been on the ice for the eighth-most expected goals-against (xGA; 385.53), per Evolving Hockey. Of the bunch, he boasts the fourth-best goal-differential (+82).
There’s a lot to like, and a lot to be nervous about in how Dobson has blazed his path through his first four full seasons in the NHL. But that argument aside, there seems no denying that he’s among the sheer best, young offensive-defensemen in the NHL. His growth into a star, top-pair role in New York far exceeded the 12th-overall draft spot he earned in the 2018 NHL Draft – and likely exceeds the paths any options at Montreal’s previous 16th and 17th overall slots this year would have yielded. He’s a premier scorer, and will join another emerging superstar on Montreal’s defense in Lane Hutson. Hutson reached the 60-assist mark as a 20-year-old rookie this season, and earned the Calder Trophy because of it.
Both Hutson and Dobson dominate possession on their line – and excel at gaining momentum through their drives in the neutral zone. They’ll be elusive and effective play-drivers, but man need to play off of each other’s pairings to give Montreal the best results. That will be where other young Montreal defenders have a chance to step up – with Kaiden Guhle and David Reinbacher likely the future glue pieces holding the offensive-stars down. How Montreal pursues that deployment, or even if they’ll maintain their current structure at all, will be headlines worth following through the rest of the summer.
Meanwhile Heineman will fall as the unheralded addition to a draft-day blockbuster. The 23-year-old winger played through his rookie NHL season in Montreal’s bottom-six this year. He managed 10 goals and 18 points through 62 games, though looked in need of a spark through multiple points in the year. This move marks the third time that Heineman has been moved by his NHL club – after previously being traded from the Florida Panthers to the Calgary Flames in a 2021 deal that landed Florida Sam Bennett; then from the Flames to the Canadiens in a 2022 trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to Calgary.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.
Blue Jackets, Canadiens In Talks To Acquire Noah Dobson
It appears the Islanders are set to move on from pending RFA defenseman Noah Dobson with the Blue Jackets and Canadiens as the sole contenders to acquire him, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic relayed earlier this morning that the Blues were also in the mix, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added Dobson wasn’t interested in signing a new contract with a team in the Western Conference. Marco D’Amico of RG was among the first yesterday to identify a connection between Montreal and Dobson.
Things have materialized rather quickly here. Dobson’s name was in trade speculation as far back as February, but it was stressed that they were only willing to part with him in the context of a specific trade that would presumably have netted them a forward of similar caliber in return. Days later, Dobson changed his representation in advance of starting extension negotiations with the Islanders.
Evidently, those discussions weren’t productive. Other teams – including Columbus and Montreal – appear prepared to offer him a price tag of $9.5MM per season on a long-term deal, Johnston reports. It’s unclear if the Islanders ever got to that number on an eight-year deal. It’s worth noting that the Blue Jackets and Canadiens can’t offer Dobson an eight-year contract because he wasn’t on their reserve list at the trade deadline. If he signs one, it’ll be because New York executes a sign-and-trade instead of just dealing his signing rights.
Both the Blue Jackets and Canadiens have two first-round picks in tonight’s draft. Columbus holds No. 14 and No. 20 overall, while the Canadiens hold No. 16 and No. 17. The Islanders will presumably land one, if not both of those picks, in a trade return. While it’s looking like they’ll select consensus top defense prospect Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 overall selection tonight, they have an obvious interest and need for center help.
Long Island native James Hagens, once considered the top prospect in the class but now projected to go later in the top 10, would fill that need. They could presumably use one of the picks they acquire for Dobson as part of a package to trade up and land both names. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that’s the organization’s preferred outcome here, rather than recouping roster players in return for Dobson.
Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports.
Sabres, Islanders Have Reportedly Talked Peterka, Dobson Trade
- According to Frank Seravalli in the DFO Rundown podcast, the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders have had loose trade negotiations regarding forward JJ Peterka and defenseman Noah Dobson. A one-for-one swap would fill an area of need for both organizations, with the Sabres prioritizing a right-handed defenseman and the Islanders looking to jumpstart a lethargic offense. Still, both teams are continuing to gauge the market for each player, and a trade isn’t considered imminent.
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Jacques Lemaire Leaves New York Islanders' Organization
- Jacques Lemaire, who has been serving as the New York Islanders’ special assignments coach since 2018, is no longer with the organization, per NHL.com reporter Stefen Rosner. His departure from the Isles makes sense considering he was brought to the team by former GM Lou Lamoriello. Lemaire, 79, enjoyed a Hall of Fame playing career, recording 835 points in 853 NHL games. In 2017, he was named to the league’s “100 Greatest Players” list. He later transitioned to coaching, serving as an NHL head coach for 17 seasons, most notably leading the Devils to a Stanley Cup title in the 1994-95 season.
Matt Martin Announces Retirement, Joins Islanders Front Office
Longtime Islanders enforcer Matt Martin has announced his retirement, per a club announcement Tuesday. He’ll join the club’s front office as a special assistant to general manager Mathieu Darche.
A fifth-round pick by the Isles as an overager in 2008, Martin rose the ranks quicker than expected for his draft slot and made his NHL debut in February 2010 amid his first professional season. He became a fourth-line fixture in his second season. He maintained that role through the 2015-16 campaign, eventually forming one of the most recognizable checking lines of the decade with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. While never a huge scorer, he did have 10 goals in the final season of his first stint on Long Island and averaged a remarkable 379 hits per 82 games over his first seven NHL seasons.
Martin left Long Island for the Maple Leafs in free agency in 2016, signing a four-year, $10MM contract. While that value indicated Toronto was looking for him to play an increased role compared to his fourth-line deployment in New York, the opposite happened. After averaging around 11 minutes per game with the Islanders, he averaged just 8:33 per game over two seasons in Toronto. He sat as a healthy scratch for much of the 2017-18 season and was traded back to the Islanders the following summer.
Injuries became more of a theme for Martin in his second go-around with the Isles, but he regained his role alongside Cizikas and Clutterbuck and was a lineup fixture when healthy. He was still quite effective as a checking forward up to a few years ago, even matching his career-high 19 points in 2022-23. His ice time and deployment saw a reduction beginning in 2023-24 as his already minimal offensive value disappeared, and he appeared in just 32 games last season after pondering retirement but landing a PTO and subsequent one-year deal to return to New York for his 16th NHL season.
Martin retires as the Islanders’ all-time leader in hits with 3,489, and his 3,936 career checks are 93 short of the all-time record held by his longtime teammate, Clutterbuck, who also recently announced his retirement after not playing in 2024-25. His 855 games played are the eighth-most in franchise history.
All of us at PHR wish Martin the best in retirement and congratulate him on a career that will permanently cement him with the latest iteration of Islanders hockey.
Image courtesy of Tom Horak-Imagn Images.
Islanders Name Rocky Thompson AHL Head Coach
The Islanders have begun the process of rebuilding their minor-league coaching staff, which was cleaned out entirely after general manager Mathieu Darche assumed his post last month. The organization announced they’ve tabbed Rocky Thompson as AHL Bridgeport’s head coach.
Thompson, 47, brings 18 years of coaching experience to the struggling Baby Isles’ bench. He’d spent the past three years with the Flyers as an assistant under John Tortorella, mainly as a power-play coach. After Tortorella was fired with weeks left in the regular season, Thompson was let go as Philadelphia overhauled its support staff after the campaign concluded. The Flyers’ power play clicked at a league-worst 14.1% under Thompson since 2022-23.
While his last job doesn’t inspire much intrigue, his earlier resume does. Thompson served as the head coach of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves from 2017-18 to 2019-20 while they were affiliated with the Blues and Golden Knights, leading them to a Calder Cup Final appearance in 2019. He also coached the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires to a Memorial Cup win in 2017 as the host club, overseeing a roster led by future NHLers Mikhail Sergachev and Gabriel Vilardi.
Thompson’s previous coaching stops included an assistant role with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings from 2007-08 to 2009-10 and a stint with AHL Oklahoma City (the Oilers’ former affiliate) from 2010-11 to 2013-14 before making his debut as an NHL coach as an assistant with the Oilers in 2014-15. He also worked with the Sharks as an associate coach in the 2020-21 campaign.
The Calgary native was a third-round pick by the Flames in 1995 and played 25 NHL games across four seasons with them and the Panthers. He never recorded a point but did rack up 117 PIMs – spending more time in the box than on the ice (94:41).
Bridgeport’s coaching change comes after Rick Kowalsky oversaw the club for the last two seasons. He compiled a rather dubious 40-88-16 record, including an AHL-record low four home wins in 2024-25. Expect the Isles to be active in signing high-end minor-league depth this summer as a result to help create a more competitive environment for their younger prospects.
Friedman: Islanders Reportedly Open To Offers For Noah Dobson
In today’s rendition of 32 Thoughts with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the podcast host reports that the New York Islanders are quietly testing the market for defenseman Noah Dobson. Friedman believes the Islanders aren’t ready to move him yet, but are simply conducting their due diligence in case he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season.
According to Friedman, the Islanders believe that if Dobson can replicate his performance from 2023-24, he’ll command an AAV of more than $10MM per year on his next deal, and that may not be something they’re willing to do. The likelihood of him being traded remains low, but the fact that the Islanders are open to hearing offers is a significant change in their approach from the regular season.