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New York Islanders on The Hockey News
How Two Draft Night Trades In 2015 Impacted The Islanders Future
By Matthew Page,
3 days ago
On this day at the 2015 NHL Draft, the New York Islanders made two trades that tremendously affected the future of the franchise.
After entering the event with no first-round picks, the Islanders traded into the proceedings twice and came out with two prospects: Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier .
The deals went down as the Florida Panthers hosted that year's draft at BB&T Center. With the Edmonton Oilers on the clock at 16th overall, they swung a deal to send that pick and the 33rd selection to New York in exchange for defenseman Griffin Reinhart.
After the deal, the Islanders selected Barzal, who quickly became the face of the franchise.
The Boston Bruins had three chances to snag Barzal, as they selected 13th, 14th, and 15th, but chose these three players: Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zachary Senyshyn.
DeBrusk is the only one who is a full-time NHLer nine years later.
In 500 regular season games, Barzal has 128 goals and 314 assists for 442 points, in addition to a Calder Trophy as the league's rookie of the year.
He's also contributed to several deep playoff runs, tallying 17 goals and 28 assists for 45 points in 60 postseason games, including two appearances in the semi-finals.
Barzal was only part of what made the 2015 draft night a success.
With the Tampa Bay Lightning on the clock at pick No. 28, then-general manager Garth Snow made another deal.
In exchange for the 33rd pick they had just acquired and the 72nd selection, the Islanders snagged Tampa's spot, selecting Beauvillier.
He would go on to score one of the biggest goals for the franchise since the dynasty days.
In 457 games with the club, Beauvillier tallied 102 goals and 107 assists for 209 points, becoming a quality piece for the team's middle six.
However, it was the playoffs where he truly shined, tallying 14 red lights and 15 helpers for 29 points in 49 games, including the final goal at Nassau Coliseum on June 23, 2021:
In the years that followed, most of the pieces involved have had massive implications for the future.
The least implications belonged to Reinhart, who unfortunately never panned out for the Oilers. In 29 games with Edmonton, he only tallied a single assist before being taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft; he has played on international ice since 2019.
As for the other picks involved in the trades, the Lightning selected a pair of Stanley Cup champions with those selections.
At 33, Tampa Bay selected Mitchell Stephens, who played two seasons with the team before a trade to the Detroit Red Wings.
The other, pick 72, became a core contributor in Anthony Cirelli, who has a pair of rings and has skated in 431 games for the Lightning.
However, the ramifications of that fateful night don't end there for the Islanders.
With the team on the fringes of playoff contention on Jan. 30, 2023, New York made a deal with the Vancouver Canucks to acquire center Bo Horvat . In exchange, the Islanders sent Beauvillier, prospect Aatu Raty, and a first-round pick in that year's draft.
Locked up long-term, Horvat has become a centerpiece to the Islanders' top line alongside Barzal, boasting 40 goals and 44 assists for 84 points in 111 games for the club, along with a pair of playoff appearances.
As for the return for Vancouver, Raty's spent most of his time with their affiliate in Abbotsford, but that's the only piece that remains from that specific trade.
The first-rounder was later flipped to the Detroit Red Wings in a deal that sent Filip Hronek to the Canucks, who has also become a mainstay for their blue line.
Beauvillier, meanwhile, has become a journeyman, being dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks last November and then to the Nashville Predators at the Trade Deadline; both deals were in exchange for fifth-round picks.
As a result, the Islanders came away with two key pieces to their success in the past decade.
Barzal's offensive skills are the centerpiece of New York's top line, while Beauvillier had a hand in some deep playoff runs.
Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
However, in retrospect, the Beauvillier acquisition later led to New York acquiring a complementary piece for their All-Star, a duo which will be together for the long haul.
While the Islanders seemingly benefited from it, it's always interesting to consider the impacts on other teams as well.
While Reinhart couldn't stick for Edmonton, Tampa Bay drafted two key cogs to their Stanley Cup years, and Vancouver cemented a defenseman who will be a complement to Quinn Hughes.
The results of some of the picks of more recent deals also have paths to this story that could keep it evolving.
However, Islanders fans will always remember it as the start of their forward core becoming what it is today.
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