With Noah Dobson now a Montreal Canadien, the New York Islanders are in need of a top-four, right-handed defenseman.
GM Mathieu Darche did not select a right-handed defenseman at the 2025 NHL Draft, and the organization has almost no depth on the right side.
Sure, Darche could re-up veteran Tony DeAngelo after he showed that he could be a solid fit in Patrick Roy's system. The Islanders did sign Adam Boqvist to a one-year, $800,000 exension.
While Darche has those two options, he may look to replace Dobson in free agency or find a bigger name to fill his role on the trade market.
There are a few names that could makes sense.
Aaron Ekblad
Aaron Ekblad has led the Florida Panthers to consecutive Stanley Cup victories, and he will now enter free agency as the top defenseman.
He had 33 points (three goals, 30 assists) in 56 regular-season games with Florida in 2024-25 and 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 19 playoff games.
His last contract was an eight-year, $60 million deal with an annual cap hit of $7.5 million, and he is likely set to earn around $8.5 million annually over a long-term deal on his next contract.
While adding a 29-year-old defenseman would put the Islanders in win-now mode, it is possible Darche looks into adding Ekblad given the Islanders' need for right-handed defenseman and the limited options available.
Brent Burns
A more reasonable candidate to join the Islanders' blue line is Brent Burns, who is coming off an eight-year, $64 million deal that carried an $8 million annual cap hit.
The Carolina Hurricanes defenseman potted just 29 points (six goals, 23 assists) in 82 games in 2024-25, failing to hit the 30-point threshold for just the second time since 2012-13 when he was limited to 30 games.
At 40 years old, he will not be the long-term solution to the Islanders' defense, but he would be a serviceable option in 2025-26 that would give the team options.
If put alongside Alexander Romanov, the Islanders could form a pairing similar to what they wanted out of Dobson and Romanov: a physical, defensive defenseman and a smart, offensive defenseman.
This would then allow Adam Pelech to play with Ryan Pulock, reuniting a duo that had great success in the early 2020s.
Burns may cost over $5 million, but it will almost definitely be a one-year contract, giving the Islanders the ability to flip him if out of the playoff race by the deadline.
As well, the Islanders now have an abundance of cap space and all three retention slots, so they are unlikely to be outbid if they have their hearts set on Burns.
John Klingberg
While not the most discussed option, the Islanders could take a chance on John Klingberg.
The soon-to-be 33-year-old had four points (one goal, three assists) in 11 games after signing with the Edmonton Oilers on Jan 17, then four points (one goal, three assists) in 19 playoff games.
While his 2024-25 production was minimal, he has been a reliable offensive defenseman much of his career, owning career highs of 13 goals (2016-17), 57 assists (2017-18), and 67 points (2017-18).
However, Klingberg has played just 92 regular-season games over the past three seasons due to injury, bringing risk for any team looking to add him as a lineup regular.
As a result, he may be forced to take a one-year deal worth around $2 million.
Justin Faulk
The free agent options to replace Dobson are incredibly limited, but Darche could turn his attention to the trade market.
Justin Faulk’s offensive production with the St. Louis Blues has taken a hit over the past few seasons, and at 33 years old, he is unlikely to have a career resurgence.
However, he could still provide what the Islanders are looking for.
In 2024-25, Faulk had 32 points (four goals, 28 assists) in 78 games, but he was strong on the power play, putting up 12 points (one goal, 11 assists), the same exact stat line as Dobson.
When looking at efficiency, Faulk generated more goals, primary assists, and total points per 60 minutes on the power play than Dobson.
Advanced metrics suggest the two had a comparable overall impact, and while Dobson was held back by the Islanders’ overall power-play struggles, Faulk has consistently shown he can produce on the man advantage, even on a league-average Blues power play.
Faulk still has two years left on his contract at a $6.5 million cap hit, along with a 15-team no-trade clause.
But, with the Blues potentially looking to clear cap space to chase a high-end acquisition, Faulk may be the most likely to move since Colton Parayko, Philip Broberg, and Cam Fowler are all core blue liners.
The Islanders shouldn’t, and likely wouldn’t, take on Faulk’s full cap hit or give up assets to acquire him, but they could look to either gain assets for taking on the contract or push St. Louis to retain salary.
If Darche plans to use 2025-26 as a year to evaluate the roster, he could also try to get the Blues to package Faulk and future draft capital to both improve the current roster and stock up on assets.
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Michael Ostrower wrote this story.
PHOTO: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images