NY Islanders forward who’s scored more than 30 goals each of the past three NHL seasons floated as Bruins trade target

The Hockey News’s Michael DeRosa believes the Boston Bruins can be in a position to trade for NY Islanders forward Brock Nelson, who’s in the final year of his contract.

DeRosa thinks the Bruins would need financial concessions from the Islanders. New York would then receive at least one NHL player and prospects/future draft picks for the Isles-lifer.

“Nelson, 33, is in the final season of his contract on a struggling Islanders club. If the Islanders are unable to turn things around and Nelson does not have an extension later in the year, we could see him become available near the deadline. If he is, the Bruins would be wise to make a push for him,” DeRosa wrote.

“In a potential move, the Bruins would likely need the Islanders to retain a portion of Nelson's salary and send at least one of their NHL players with other assets to New York.”

NY Islanders fans would be heartbroken losing Brock Nelson, but business decisions may have to be made

Nelson brings back memories of the old barn and the electric 2015 series with the Washington Capitals. He’s a symbol of persistence when the franchise moved to the Barclays Center in one of the least popular venue switches in sports history; all before making things right again and briefly returning to Long Island at the rebuilt Nassau Coliseum and later returning full-time to LI at the UBS Arena.

It’d be heartbreaking to see one of the team’s perennial top goal-scorers shipped off as the Islanders aim to stay in the Stanley Cup Playoff race in his final contracted year.

But it’d be a necessary business decision Louis Lamoriello probably wouldn’t be afraid to make. Whatever assets acquired in a Nelson deal could be at risk of being quickly re-routed by the offseason if Lamoriello doesn’t go in the direction of a rebuild.