Well, we had an idea it was coming, and here it is. After the New Jersey Devils had held Ondrej Palat out of the lineup tonight, we knew a trade must be close. It has now become official. The New York Islanders will receive Palat, along with a 2026 third-round draft pick, and a 2027 sixth rounder, in a trade with the Devils, that see them receive Maxim Tsyplakov. Let’s try to decipher the details of this move.
Isles-Devils trade:
Palat, 3rd RD pick in ‘26 and 6th RD pick in ‘27 for Tsyplakov— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 28, 2026
Islanders Trade Tsyplakov to Devils for Palat and Draft Picks
The thinking for the Islanders must be to put a push on for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ondrej Palat comes over with a ton of playoff pedigree. Palat is 14th among active NHL skates with 103 career post-season points. Furthermore, he has never been a big scorer at the NHL level, but he has always been consistent. Plus, he does have the two Stanley Cup rings from his time with the Lightning. Palat currently has four goals and six assists for 10 points in 51 games this year. That is in 12:45 of average ice time. With the Isles currently third in the Metropolitan Division standings, the thinking must be that he would be great for the stretch drive. He’s relatively fresh, and tends to slide under the radar, especially this time of year. Could be an interesting acquisition.
The move is also interesting with the connection with Isles general manager Mathieu Darche. Darche was the director of hockey operations in Tampa, when Palat was there, and they were winning cups.
What’s the Deal with Tsyplakov?
For the New Jersey Devils, this does seem to make a bit of sense. However, given the draft capital they gave up, they hope it is a hit. Tsyplakov has been having a tough year on the island, and a change was probably warranted. He only has a single goal and assist, for two points in 27 games played. Moreover, he has been skating less than 10 minutes a game when he has played. It hasn’t been working. New Jersey hopes he can relive the spark he had last year. In almost 15 minutes a game, he played nearly a full season. In 77 games, he had 10 goals and 25 assists. He had come over to North America has a highly-touted free agent from Russia. In his last year overseas, he netted 31 goals in the KHL. Maybe he will get a chance to prove himself in New Jersey. In any case, it wasn’t workin in New York for him, so this trade does make sense for both sides.
Main Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images