Islanders re-sign Brock Nelson to six-year contract

In what should be deemed a heralded move by Islanders’ President and GM Lou Lamoriello, the New York Islanders and Brock Nelson have agreed to a six year contract.  The contract is for $6M AAV and term figures were first broken by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman;

6×6 https://t.co/Nip9YKs0K2

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 23, 2019

The Islanders needed to re-sign Nelson because of their alarming lack of depth at center.  Sure they may have overpaid for him in terms of market value, but the combination of a career year by Nelson (25 G, 28 A, 53 points) and a lack of depth in the free agent market makes it a home run for both Nelson and the Islanders.

Nelson would have most likely been the most highly coveted center not named Matt Duchene in free agency.  The Islanders and Nelson are both happy to have gotten the deal done, and although he could have gotten more elsewhere, felt that Long Island was the only place he’s ever wanted to be;

Brock Nelson: “You could wait it out, but this is the only place I’ve ever been. It’s a great place to live, especially now with kids. We love it here and were very happy to be here another six years.” #Isles

— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) May 23, 2019

Next on Lamoriello’s checklist is to re-sign Captain Anders Lee and goaltender Robin Lehner.  The chances of the Islanders being able to re-sign all four major free agents (Nelson, Lee, Lehner and Eberle) are slim to none so Jordan Eberle will most likely be gone by July.  However, there’s always a chance they can strike a team friendly deal.  This is a step in the right direction with the first move in the Isles’ off-season.