The Islanders have a tough contract situation of their own
Over the last week or so, several different storylines have rumbled out of big-name upcoming free agents and their ongoing contract situations.
The Winnipeg Jets trio of upcoming free agents, Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba (who is actually an upcoming restricted free agent) recently had their contract demands leak out to the public. According to a report by Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press, the three players reportedly demanded $152 million prior to this season. Ladd, 30, requested a six-year deal worth at least $41 million. Byfuglien, also 30, requested a $55 million deal over eight years, and Trouba, 21, requested a $56 million over eight years.
And before that report, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos created waves when he "liked" a tweet from TSN that suggested the Toronto Maple Leafs should heavily pursue the 25-year-old goal scorer. Stamkos stated that he accidentally liked the article, and that his slip of the thumb shouldn't suggest anything.
But the ongoing news cycle of Stamkos and the development in Winnipeg suggest that several teams are getting antsy with their contracts situations for next season. This upcoming offseason should feature several notable players due for a new deal, and some may be with brand new teams. The Carolina Hurricanes may make their top player, Eric Staal, available at the trade deadline. Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings needs a deal, and it will likely be a big one. But there's an ongoing contract situation that seems to be a bit quieter than the rest.
The New York Islanders have a big situation on their hands with Kyle Okposo. Their forward of nine seasons has developed into one of their top scorers on their team, and he becomes an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this upcoming offseason.
Okposo is making just $4.5 million in salary this season (all cap information featured in this article provided by General Fanager). But Okposo has carried a $2.8 million cap hit for the last five seasons. That gives Okposo the sixth-highest cap hit among forwards on the Islanders. He's carrying a cap hit that is only $50,000 more than consistent bottom-six forward Cal Clutterbuck.
But Okposo's point production has been worth significantly more than a $2.8 million cap hit per year. Since the 2013-14 season, Okposo's 146 points in 162 games is the second-most on the Islanders, behind only John Tavares. That's the 30th-most in the NHL during that time, 17 points ahead of New York Rangers forward Rick Nash, who is making $7.9 million this year.
That spells trouble for Islanders general manager Garth Snow. With $52,511,310 already invested in player contracts this year, and eight other upcoming free agent contracts (including Frans Nielson and Ryan Strome, who could both see large increases in payment as well), fitting Okposo's pay raise into the budget may prove to be pretty difficult.
How much could Okposo fetch per year in his upcoming contract? A good starting would actually be previously-mentioned Ladd, as he and Okposo play similar roles. Ladd has finished with 62 points just last season. Okposo finished with 51, but he also played in 21 less games after missing time with a detached retina. This year, Okposo is on pace for 68 points this season (he already has 26 in the first 31 games). If Ladd, who is a little over two years older than Okposo, can start a negotiation process with a six-year, $41 million stake ($6.833 million per year), Okposo can not only realistically agree to those terms, he can likely try to reach for more than $7 million.
The Islanders would unlikely be able to meet those demands. So the next couple of months, if negotiations go stale, the Islanders have to ask themselves a question: Should we move Okposo at the deadline?
No matter there decision, the Islanders will have a risk attached to it. If they opt to keep Okposo for the remainder of the season, they run the risk of watching an extremely valuable player walk away after this season, leaving you with nothing in return. But if they opt to trade him for the great assets he will bring, they will be left asking themselves 'What if?' when it comes to the playoffs.
A similar situation happened just last year with the divisional rival Washington Capitals. At the trade deadline, the Capitals had an opportunity to part with defenseman Mike Green, who could have given the Capitals a lot in return if they decided to trade him. But they instead decided to keep Green for themselves, relying on him to play a big part in their playoff run. The Capitals came up short, and watched Green hit free agency, gaining nothing in return.
At the moment, the Islanders have 41 points in their first 31 games, good for the fourth-most in the NHL. It seems unlikely that the Islanders will pawn off one of their most valuable assets simply to gain one in the future. But there's no denying the potential return that Okposo could warrant.
While the decision will be difficult, and it seems likely this will be the last year Okposo wears an Islanders uniform, New York has replacements in waiting. Strome will see a much larger role with each year he plays. The fifth overall draft pick of 2014, Michael Dal Colle, will likely be able to slide into a top-six role one day. The Islanders gained two high-end forward prospects in Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier in the 2015 draft.
But regardless of how the Okposo situation turns out, it'll be worth keeping an eye on.
