Forward Hudson Fasching hasn't played a game for the New York Islanders since suffering a lower-body injury against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 25.

Despite returning to the practice sheet ahead of the Islanders' Feb. 18 showdown at MetLife Stadium against the cross-town rival New York Rangers, the Islanders placed the 28-year-old forward on long-term injured reserve after their game in Pittsburgh on Feb. 20, clearing his $775,000 off the books while also creating a roster spot.

The LTIR move was retroactive to Jan. 25, which meant that Fasching would be eligible to return this Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. 

The move was made due to the injury to forward Casey Cizikas against the Penguins, which allowed the Islanders to recall center Kyle MacLean from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. 

After the Islanders' 4-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 22, the Islanders announced that they had sent Fasching and defenseman Samuel Bolduc to Bridgeport on conditioning stints.

That didn't impact the Islanders' cap situation, as Fasching remained on LTIR.

Cizikas returned to the ice Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, leading to the Islanders returning MacLean to Bridgeport for one day before bringing him back up on Sunday.

Due to the move, the Islanders now only have $135,000 in available cap space, per CapFriendly. 

With Brock Nelson now the top-line left-winger, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas were each elevated by a line, with MacLean in the lineup as the fourth-line center. 

Because of this new configuration, how did the Islanders want to get about making a move for Fasching on the roster and on the books if he's ready to come up and the Islanders want him back up right now?

The simplest way to activate Fasching is by sending MacLean back down. 

MacLean going down would clear $800,000 off the books, which would give New York $935,00 in space, allowing for Fasching's contract to fit.

The Islanders would likely then have to move Nelson back to the No. 2 center role and go back, more or less, to the lines we've seen more often than not this season. 

MacLean has been a strong player through eight NHL games, but he is waiver-exempt, and the last thing Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello wants to do is lose anyone.

Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has essentially been injured the entire season, whether he's played in games or not. His ankle injury in game one of the regular season seems to be still impacting his performance.

Right now, he's sidelined with a lower-body injury that's forced him to miss the last two games and likely a third against Detroit since he is not on the trip.

Mayfield signed a seven-year extension this summer worth $3.5 million annually, and if they placed him on LTIR retroactively to the 4-0 loss to St. Louis, that would clear more than enough to recall Fasching, creating a roster spot as well.

If the Islanders go this route, Mayfield would not be eligible to return until March 19 against the Carolina Hurricanes

He must miss 10 games AND 24 days.

If Mayfield isn't going to miss enough time to warrant an LTIR placement, pending unrestricted free agent Sebastian Aho could be on his way out.

The 28-year-old depth defenseman beat Bolduc out as the sixth defenseman to start the season, but with Mike Reilly joining the squad via waivers, Aho has become dispensable. 

Bolduc's conditioning stint has a max of 14 days or three games, which ends on March 8. He can serve as the seventh defenseman if Mayfield is ready. 

The Islanders also have trade-acquisition blueliner Robert Bortuzzo on LTIR (out indefinitely) but could potentially get him back, depending on how he is feeling and if the Islanders have enough cap to activate him. 

But, if Mayfield isn't a go and neither is Bortuzzo, the Islanders have to hold onto Aho, whether he is starting or is serving as an extra defenseman. 

The Islanders could move Bolduc, but he is younger and is a 23-year-old former second-round pick. 

Lamoriello decided to waive forward Julien Gauthier on Feb. 2 to create cap space and a roster move ahead of the activation of defenseman Ryan Pulock. 

He also stated that he wanted to give Oliver Wahlstrom a good look, which Roy did for eight straight games before taking him out of the lineup to accommodate the lineup changes.

In those eight games, Wahlstrom recorded no points with eight shots.

Wahlstrom signed his $874,125 million qualifying offer this summer and, due to a lack of playing time and development hasn't turned into the top-six player yet that the organization has been looking for.

Fasching provides a much stronger bottom-six game than Wahlstrom, and the Islanders are in the business of winning games unless things have changed overnight, given the playoff picture.

If the Islanders place Wahlstrom on waivers, he will likely get claimed. 

It makes more sense to trade him for something than lose him for nothing if that's the route the Islanders want to go.