The New York Islanders are in a very tricky salary cap situation. With the re-signing of restricted free agent (RFA) defenseman Ryan Pulock to a two-year, $10 million contract, the Isles cap space is even lower. They are down to only $3.9 million in cap space and still looking to re-sign star forward Mathew Barzal, depth pieces Matt Martin and Andy Greene, while signing Cory Schneider as a depth goaltender. This past Friday, the second NHL buyout window opened for 24 hours and was only available for use on a player that makes more than $4 million AAV. The Islanders reportedly did not use the buyout window to their advantage, but here are some candidates that could have been bought out.

Johnny Boychuk:

Boychuk is the most likely candidate to be moved this offseason. It would most likely be through a trade, with the Islanders giving up some draft capital in addition. The Devon Toews trade was made to save money and recoup draft picks that were moved out at the 2020 Trade Deadline. Johnny Boychuk has two more seasons left on his contract with a $6 million cap hit. If this contract can be moved, the Islanders will have the extra space needed to re-sign Barzal and make other moves.

Nick Leddy:

Nick Leddy will be a member of the New York Islanders next season. There is almost no chance he is moved unless someone offers the Isles a massive haul in return. That would be because the Islanders aren’t looking to trade him. After struggling in recent years he had a bounce-back season and a great playoff run that resulted in praise from Islanders’ management. Leddy is still young at only 29-years-old and has a $5.5 million cap hit for the next two seasons.

Andrew Ladd:

Andrew Ladd would be the consensus pick amongst Islanders fans to move. A Andrew Ladd-for-Zach Parise trade could have been an interesting move, but, unfortunately, it is not as realistic as people think. That trade could have been worse for the Islanders’ financial situation. It looks like the Islanders would rather just let the remaining three years of Ladd’s contract run out than take on the more expensive contract of Parise. It comes at a price tag of $5.5 million over each of the next three seasons. He has been a disappointment and has spent time in the American Hockey League (AHL) and on the Injured Reserve. The Islanders will most likely not buy-out Ladd, as his contract is tagged as “buyout proof”.

Should the Islanders have used the buyout window?

For the Islanders, their best option has been and will continue to be making an attempt to trade one of their expensive players, and they are actively trying to but struggling to find a suitor. The Devon Toews trade was the first step in the cap-clearing process for New York, but we will have to sit tight and see what the Isles do to open up money to re-sign Mathew Barzal.

John Smark