While New York remained idle during a chaotic pre-draft flurry, former assets and picks changed hands as blockbuster deals reshaped the league landscape ahead of free agency.
With the 2026 NHL Draft taking place on Friday, some NHL teams got active in a major way on Tuesday.
The New York Islanders were not one of the teams involved, but a few of their former pieces were.
The day started with the New Jersey Devils deciding to move on from disgruntled defenseman Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames.
In that deal was former Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov who was flipped to New Jersey in exchange for Ondrej Palat and their 2026 third-round pick.
As the day progressed, we saw the Ottawa Senators flip the No. 9 pick they just acquired from the Florida Panthers in the Brady Tkachuk trade to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for William Eklund, hinting that Ivan Stenberg may be their selection at No. 2.
William is the older brother of Islanders prospect Victor Eklund, who the team selected 16th overall at the 2025 NHL Draft.
As the day progressed we saw the Washington Capitals acquire Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues.
Kyrou waived his full no-trade clause.
The last trade of the day -- the biggest head-scratcher, too -- was the Chicago Blackhawks trading the No. 4 overall pick and No. 45 in the 2026 NHL Draft to acquire Bowen Byram from the Buffalo Sabres, a gambful, for sure.
That second-round pick was the Islanders.
On day two of the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, former Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello traded that pick to Chicago to get them to take the final season of Josh Bailey's deal which carried a $5 million cap hit.
It's time for Chicago to start acquiring NHL talent over prospects, but this deal has to work, especially when you see Byram's AAV on his upcoming extension.
The Islanders, after missing the playoffs for the last two seasons, have yet to get involved in these pre-draft trade shenanigans as we wait and see how general manager Mathieu Darche decides to navi his second free agency on Long Island.
