NHL trade rumors 2017: Islanders reportedly trade 1st round pick to Vegas ahead of expansion draft

So that’s how the New York Islanders are keeping the Vegas Golden Knights away.

TSN and Arthur Staple of Newsday both reported on Monday the Islanders have a deal in place with the Knights to steer the expansion draft away from a key player New York left unprotected.

Staple reports the deal will include the Islanders’ first-round pick and center Mikhail Grabovski. Neither outlet explicitly states whether that pick is in 2017 (15th overall) or otherwise, but odds are it is. Considering New York is pushing Vegas toward a certain player in the expansion draft, it’s essentially a three-piece deal.

You had to assume the Islanders had a move like this up their sleeve considering the quality of players they left unprotected. Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson, Calvin de Haan, Josh Bailey and Thomas Hickey would all qualify as big losses heading to Vegas. It would cost the Islanders a price like this to steer them elsewhere.

It’s another sign that Vegas GM George McPhee holds all the cards this week. If this report and the one about the Blue Jackets is true, the Knights might already have two new first-round picks just from teams begging them not to take good players from their rosters.

It’s a helluva way to build for the future, especially considering Vegas stands to field a competitive roster no matter what next season. Keeping all of those exposed players is in the Islanders’ benefit, too, as they try to convince John Tavares to re-sign before next summer.

Grabovski hasn’t played since suffering a concussion in March of 2016, and his $5 million cap hit expires next offseason. Including him in this deal lets Vegas reach the cap floor and New York clear valuable space.