NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders — Jean-Gabriel Pageau may return to Canadian teams after lackluster four seasons (Image credit: Imagn)

NHL Trade Rumors: Insider believes $30,000,000 Islanders forward could return to Canadiens or Senators after lackluster four seasons

Modified Jun 24, 2024 16:13 GMT

NHL's New York Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau is currently on a six-year contract worth $30,000,000. With two more seasons remaining on his deal, there's speculation that he might be traded this summer to help the team manage their salary cap.

The veteran forward is set to make $5,000,000 each in the remaining years of his current contract. Regarding this, Arthur Staple of The Athletic said:

“He’s still a player some inexperienced teams would love to have on their roster, his cap hit (two more years at $5 million AAV) is acceptable, especially for some teams that might need a little boost to get to the new salary floor of $65 million and the Islanders could find a replacement for him in the bottom six."

While Staple clarified that there had been no official trade discussions and despite Pageau having a 16-team no-trade list, Staple thinks few NHL Canadian teams are likely on the table. This might make trading him back to the Ottawa Senators or the Montreal Canadiens feasible this summer.

Over the last four seasons, the player has only notched 56 goals and 84 assists in 283 NHL games. Last regular season, his offensive game saw another slump in form where he recorded 11 goals and 22 assists in 82 games.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau ‘ready’ for next NHL season with New York Islanders

During the end-of-season interview with the New York Islanders, Pageau mentioned how the team's mindset has improved over the year. However, when asked to comment on his campaign from last season, Jean-Gabriel Pageau was critical of himself.

“Not good enough,” he said. “I wasn't, you know, you look back, there's obviously some stuff I think I did well, but way more stuff I think I could've had been better.

“And you know, I'm still gonna go back and look exactly where I can be better, and I'll work on it this summer. I love to work hard in the summer, so I'll make sure that I'm ready for next season."

When asked if there was anything that he was about to change during his summer training, Pageau said:

“At the age I am now, it's not always about maintenance. I want to still be better and I'm going to look at some different stuff where I can be more explosive, keep on improving on, you know, on draws on, on any little details. There's something, you know, my shot, something I want to work on. Little details like that, so definitely will add that to my routine.”

While the player may be preparing for the coming NHL season in New York, it remains to be seen if he will continue with his current team or find home elsewhere.