Report: Leafs, Islanders Discussing Parenteau Trade

Toronto might have a suitor for their largest remaining trade chip. According to TSN’s Gary Lawless, the New York Islanders are interested in bringing P.A. Parenteau to Brooklyn, but are trying to negotiate a lower price.

Lawless says that Toronto’s asking price for Parenteau is a second round pick. The Islanders don’t own their 2016 second round selection, having dealt it to Boston two years ago for Johnny Boychuk, but they do own their 2017 second rounder.

It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Islanders cave into the Leafs’ demands, but there are a number of alternatives if draft picks can’t get it done in the end. New York has a collection of good prospects, and a number of them would make for a suitable alternative return.

You’re not going to get a Matt Barzal or Michael Dal Colle out of the Islanders for Parenteau, but is it too crazy to imagine that Joshua Ho-Sang or Ilya Sorokin could come back the other way? Maybe other pieces would need to change hands, but I don’t think it’s completely out of the realm of possibility. What makes this potential deal a little unique, and weakens Toronto’s bargaining power, is that the Islanders have boatloads of cap space to spare. The Leafs won’t be able to offer financial relief, but if they want a really good asset out of the Islanders they could end up adding in an asset of their own. 

And while there are still a good number of rental wingers available for trade, it’s nice to see Toronto sticking to their guns. After all, I’d feel very uncomfortable if Parenteau fetched the Leafs anything lower than a second round pick (or something of similar value) when Roman Polak and Nick Spaling just recently brought back a pair of them a couple days ago.