The NHL Draft is set to get underway with the first round on Thursday night, beginning at 8pm ET. The Islanders currently hold the 23rd overall pick in the first round. While there is a possibility that the Islanders stay put with it and make the pick, there is also a possibility that Lou Lamoriello feels the Islanders, who are in a position to try and go all out in the pursuit of a Stanley Cup, could trade the pick and try to make a improvements to the top-six forwards.
It’s no secret that the Islanders’ biggest weakness is their scoring ability, as Barry Trotz instilled a defense-first mentality within the organization. After locking up forwards Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson, it’s time to look outside of the organization to add a few more pieces. Whether it be via trade or free agency, expect Lou Lamoriello to be looking to improve this team, especially over this draft weekend when all 31 of the NHL GM’s are in the same room.
A name that has continued to come up in Islanders trade rumors is defenseman Nick Leddy. Although Leddy has proved he can be a decent defenseman with incredible skating abilities, it is looking more and more like the Islanders would be better off sending him elsewhere, especially with defensive prospect Noah Dobson eager to get a crack at the NHL.
It is very possible that Lou Lamoriello will try to package Leddy along with a pick to try and get some scoring help. Whatever it may be, I certainly expect Lou to be very aggressive in trying to make this team better.

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