We live in a salary-cap world, and attaching draft picks to move contracts is part of doing business in the NHL. Here's a better way to view this situation.

Like many NHL teams, the New York Islanders find themselves in a tough financial spot. 

Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello voiced his desire to re-sign his four key unrestricted free agents, in defenseman Scott Mayfield, netminder Semyon Varlamov, as well as forwards Zach Parise and Pierre Engvall.

With just around $6.1 million in cap space, signing all four isn't possible. 

On Thursday, the first buyout window opened up. If they felt so inclined, the Islanders have until June 30 to go that route with a few players. The likely culprit would be 33-year-old forward Josh Bailey and his $5 million cap hit, the longest-tenured Islander who fell out of favor with head coach Lane Lambert early in the season. 

A buyout would save the Islanders $2.33 million this upcoming season but would carry a cap penalty of $1.166 million in 2024-25, per CapFriendly. 

As explained in a previous piece for The Hockey News, diving in a bit further on the personal Twitter, the Islanders can go another two routes with Bailey this summer if they intend to move him:

One note to add is that the Islanders could get a second buyout window if 25-year-old forward Collin Adams files for arbitration (only player eligible). Whether the Islanders award Adams in arbitration or the two sides settle, the Islanders will get a second buyout window three days after.

Adams filing for arbitration would allow the Islanders to test the Bailey waters at the 2023 NHL Draft and beyond. If they can't find a suitor to take most, if not all, of his $5 million cap hit, they can go this route.

However, the ideal route is moving the entirety of his contract, which means parting ways with draft picks.

Per a source, the asking price for Bailey last summer was a first-round pick, due to him having two years remaining on his deal. However with just one year left, the asking price likely dropped to a second. 

The Islanders do not have a bonafide top prospect in their system and do not own a first-round pick or a third-rounder at the upcoming draft. Parting ways with a second on top of that to move a contract like Bailey's may sound like a horrific decision to save $5 million or parts of it. 

But it's time people start looking at the trading of picks from a different angle.

As mentioned, the Islanders have UFAs they want to bring back. Even with contract(s) being moved, Lamoriello likely has to pick and choose which ones he does bring back, outside of Parise, who will cost the league minimum.

To further explain this point, let's use Engvall. The 27-year-old speedster who clicked alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri is a need but could command north of $3 million annually on his new deal.

So rather than viewing the situation as giving up a pick or two for some cap relief this upcoming season, view it as the Islanders moving a second-round pick in exchange for Engvall. 

And that's not just for one season of Engvall. It's about the ability to sign a player like Engvall long-term or a player like Mayfield, when there are other players on the roster, like elite netminder Ilya Sorokin, who is in need of a new contract come season's end. 

The same can be said if the Islanders sign a free agent with the extra cap space.

While on the surface, the Islanders would be moving another pick for cap relief. But another way of viewing the situation is the Islanders are moving a pick to bring in...name your free agent. 

So, in Layman's terms, the Islanders are trading a pick for an NHL player. 

It's that simple. 

We live in a salary-cap world, and picks are just the price of doing business. Draft capital, as we see in many sports, has become an incredible asset, especially with how the NHL has migrated from a veteran-based, physically dominating league to a league based on young speed and skill. 

Having the ability to draft that young speed and skill and develop them into NHL talent quickly (while still on their entry-level deals or making pennies on the dollar) is a luxury. 

It's a luxury the Islanders don't have until one of their prospects becomes an NHL staple. 

What should always trump prospects is already-established NHL players, which gets us back to trading picks for the ability to retain or sign NHLers. 

That's especially true for a team like the Islanders, who believe they are in win-now mode.