As I mentioned in my column over at The Elmonters from this morning, New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche and Utah Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong spoke at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. 

The Islanders hold the top pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, and it seems likely that they will draft defenseman Matthew Schaefer. 

Utah holds the fourth pick in the draft, and per conversations at the combine, it sounds like they're incredibly high on forward Brady Martin. 

Because the upcoming draft is decentralized, with teams working from their home base rather than the draft floor, it was expected that trade talks would happen in Buffalo. 

Conversations between Utah and the Islanders could involve several factors, from the Islanders trading down in the draft to No. 4 and potentially selecting Long Island native James Hagens to maybe the availability of restricted free agent forward Simon Holmstrom. 

Utah has reportedly been looking for a young top-six forward. 

Could Anthony Duclair be an option for Utah if he isn't going to be with the Islanders following what transpired at the tail-end of last season?

Looking at Utah's backend, they could use a player like Alexander Romanov — of course, a Noah Dobson is intriguing too — maybe even a Scott Mayfield, if Robert Bortuzzo, a pending unrestricted free agent, isn't brought back. 

The 2025 NHL Draft will take place on June 27 & 28 in Los Angeles. 

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Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images