A second NHL superstar has officially been put on the trade block
Mathew Barzal and Peter DeBoer are suddenly staring at the same Islanders question: is New York really ready to move its best playmaker?
That is why this report hit. David Pagnotta and Mike Johnson both tied Barzal's name to trade talk, and once a player like that surfaces, it stops feeling like small summer noise.
The key detail is the type of move being discussed. Pagnotta's angle, as relayed in the report, was that this would not be a futures dump. If Barzal moves, the Islanders would be looking at a hockey trade.
That lines up with the player. Barzal still put up 19 goals and 72 points in 81 games, which is not the stat line of a piece you toss overboard just to clear room.
It also lines up with the team. The Islanders finished 43-34-5 with 91 points, so this is not a club tearing everything down to the studs.
That is why the return matters so much. The reporting around Barzal keeps pointing to New York wanting top-six help back, especially on the wing, not a pile of picks that pushes the answer down the road.
Barzal's contract adds another layer. Marqueur lists him at a $9.15 million cap hit through 2030-31, which means any team calling is calling on a real commitment, not a short rental.
"He has a 10 team trade list," replied Johnson. "If you're a team that wants him, you've gotta get out there."
"This is not the same category as Dylan Larkin for me though," said Pagnotta. "The potential of a futures trade for Barzal just doesn't make sense for the New York Islanders. They want to add another top-six winger. But if you're moving Barzal, this is a hockey trade. You're going talent for talent."
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The NHL trade market just got even crazier as a second superstar hits the block
Because Barzal is still one of the few Islanders who changes the pace of a game on his own. He drives the middle, carries through the neutral zone, and still looks like the forward most likely to pull a defender out of shape.
DeBoer already leaned into that after taking over, even moving Barzal back to center in April because he felt that is where his speed and all-around game hit hardest.
So if New York is truly listening, it says something bigger about the roster. This would not be trimming around the edges. It would be asking whether the Islanders' best offensive engine fits the next version of the team.
There is still pushback out there. One report last week said the Islanders were not actively shopping Barzal and were simply doing what any general manager should do when teams call.
That is fair. But once Barzal's name gets this much traction, the room changes. Fans start wondering. Rivals start calling harder. And the player stops feeling untouchable, even if he never actually moves.
That is the tension on Long Island now. Mathew Barzal is not Dylan Larkin, and this does not sound like a forced exit. But the Islanders have let the league know one thing: if they touch this file, it will be for a real hockey swing, not a soft reset.
Source : Reports that Islanders star Mathew Barzal is on the trade market
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||