Lou needs to take serious look at trade for Pageau

The New York Islanders are in a great position right now.  They’re third in the Metro with a game in hand on almost everyone in the division and only five points out of first place.  They have the same amount of points at this point as they had last season.  However, the biggest difference between this season and last season is that one losing streak drops you out of the playoffs.

The Islanders have had a plethora of freak injuries over the past two months.  Adam Pelech is out for the season with a torn achilles, suffered while playing two-touch (a popular soccer game) as a warm up.  Cal Clutterbuck still hasn’t recovered from a lacerated wrist suffered weeks ago, and news came out on Wednesday that Casey Cizikas would miss three to four weeks with a laceration on his thigh.

With all these injuries to their top penalty killers, there’s one player that should be on the mind of Lou Lamoriello.  The Islanders GM has been in a wait and see mode for almost two seasons now.  Since taking over for Garth Snow, Lou has made exactly one trade in his tenure;  A trade two summers ago for hometown favorite Matt Martin.

The Islanders may not be favorites to win the Stanley Cup and are a flawed team, but if they’re going to compete or even make the playoffs with these injuries, they’ll need to swing for the fences.  J.G. Pageau of the Ottawa Senators is the perfect player for this Islanders team.

Pageau has 21 goals, 13 assists and 34 points in 54 games this season.  He is the Swiss Army Knife on a bad Senators team.  He plays Power Play, Penalty Kill and does everything in between.  He is an excellent two-way forward and has plenty of pop offensively.

It’s going to take a lot for the Islanders to get Pageau, especially if Ottawa at one point planned on re-signing the UFA.  It will most likely cost a first round pick and a high-end prospect.  The issue is that the Islanders don’t exactly have the luxury of giving up high picks or high prospects because they’re still trying to build their prospect pool.

If Lou can pull off some magic and trade for Pageau, it would be a massive win for the Isles.  They would get an excellent two way forward who can play all three phases of the game.  They would also get the perfect third line center for this team.  Pageau is a Barry Trotz kind of guy.  Let’s see if Lou can get the deal done.