What Islanders Noah Dobson's Agent Change Is All About

Dobson changed his agent a few days ago.

When New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson made an agent change a few days ago, many believed it was for the purpose of a trade, given rumors that hit the internet last weekend.

As Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman speculated on his latest '32 Thoughts', I've heard that there's no trade lined up at all, and the agency switch was about working out a new deal with the Islanders.

To the best of our knowledge, Dobson has not hinted at wanting out of Long Island. 

Friedman also heard that Dobson's name had come up in one specific trade but that he wasn't being actively shopped, which I can also back up. 

The specific trade is not known at this time, but given the Islanders' interest in Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, it's not unrealistic to connect those dots.

However, we'll reiterate our belief that if Dobson were to be traded, he wouldn't be the best player in the deal, so people shouldn't be thinking that the 25-year-old defenseman who scored 70 points last year is being moved for picks and prospects, or any unproven NHLer.

Not at this time, at least. 

If contract talks go sideways, the Islanders don't necessarily have to move Dobson. He's a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights and they can come to a forced agreement by going the latter route. 

That's not ideal, obviously, as arbitration hearings can get heated. 

Time will tell, but as we mentioned on Thursday, the new agency, Wasserman, is likely catching up on Dobson's case before sitting down at the negotiation table with the Islanders. 

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