Carter Brooks, a trusted journalist, broke news today on X about the Winnipeg Jets expressing interest in acquiring New York Islanders’ speedy forward Mathew Barzal.
The 27-year-old Coquitlam, BC native has appeared in 21 games for the Islanders this season, recording four goals and nine assists for a total of 13 points. Over the course of his career, Barzal has played 521 NHL games, registering 455 points (132G, 323A).
Barzal was drafted by the Islanders back in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft in the first round as the 16th overall pick.
Barzal missed some time due to an upper-body injury he sustained in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 30, 2024. However, he has since returned and is healthy.
Last night, against the Utah Hockey Club, Barzal scored the game-winning goal with 1:25 left in the third period, lifting the Islanders to their 17th win of the season (17-18-7). They are now tied for 7th place with Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division.
Brooks mentions that the asking price in return would be high, which makes sense. It is hard to believe that the Jets would be in on Barzal since they would need to give up some of their prospects, such as Brad Lambert, Nikita Cibrikov, Brayden Yager, and so on. I could also potentially see Cole Perfetti being part of the deal. Luckily, if Perfetti was traded, it wouldn’t leave a hole in the second line since Barzal would replace his RW spot.
Another factor the Jets would have to consider is their cap situation. They have expiring contracts for key players, including Nikolaj Ehlers, Gabriel Vilardi, Neal Pionk, and Dylan Samberg. With these contracts to manage, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff may decide to prioritize these players before addressing Barzal’s contract. He is currently in the second year of an 8-year, $9.15 million deal.
If the trade happened, here’s what I think the forward lines would look like (assuming everyone’s healthy):
Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi
Ehlers – Namestnikov – Barzal
Niederreiter – Lowry – Appleton
Barron – Kupari – Iafallo
I’m not a huge believer in the Jets acquiring Barzal since of the risks that factor into it, but, it would be pretty cool to see two speedsters in Barzal and Ehlers on the same line.
