Pageau grew up in Ottawa, played for the Gatineau Olympiques, and played 428 games for the Senators.
The New York Islanders would like to get busy in the July 1st free agent market, but they first need to reduce payroll between now and then.
One solution the New York media has bandied about is pulling former Ottawa Senator centre J.G. Pageau off their roster. Purging Pageau's cap hit of $5 million for each of the next two years would free up funds to go shopping.
The Islanders have two options. They could buy Pageau out in the next ten days. After the Stanley Cup Final concludes, teams will have until June 30 at 5 pm to buy out contracts. Or they could trade Pageau, where they'd almost certainly have to retain money.
Pageau would quickly become an intriguing option for the Senators' bottom six in either scenario. It depends on what else GM Steve Staios has up his sleeve in the next two weeks. And if Pageau becomes available via trade, the Islanders would have to retain 50% for the notion to make sense for anyone.
Pageau is 31 now, and in his four and a half years with the Islanders, including this season, he seems like the same player he was when he left in a 2020 trade. The Sens ended up with a first-rounder (Ridly Greig) in the deal, so it worked out nicely (unlike some of the other Senator firesale/rebuild deals).
Handing Pageau $5 million a year didn't make him something he isn't. He's still a great teammate, still has a high compete level, still plays the right way, and averages around 14 goals and between 30-40 points. He's worth more than his stats tell you, but $5 million was always a little misaligned with his value.
If the Sens could get Pageau and a half-off coupon from the Islanders, that's probably a deal that most Senator fans would embrace completely. Or is there another available player I'm forgetting that Ottawa fans literally sang songs about?
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