ELMONT, NY — Brock Nelson’s situation is not necessarily unique within the scope of professional sports, but the difficult balancing act that comes with it is one of the more difficult things any athlete contends with.
Tuesday night might have been the 33-year-old’s final game at UBS Arena as a member of the New York Islanders. The 12-year veteran, who has spent his entire career with the team and is on an expiring contract, is one of the most sought-after trade pieces perceived to be on the market before the NHL’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline on Friday.
“There’s a lot going on, for sure,” Nelson said following the 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets in which he scored a goal and added an assist. “I’ve said it, and I mean it, I’ve just been trying to worry about playing hockey even when there’s obviously more that goes into it in terms of other things and emotions.”
Languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings — 63 points and four teams separate them from the second and final Wild Card playoff berth — it feels as though it is finally time for the Islanders to sell. Well, it is the most logical time, at least.
Nelson could realistically land general manager Lou Lamoriello a first-round draft pick and then some, adding to a remarkably thin farm system that has made a sustainable pipeline the wildest of pipe dreams around these parts.
“Not really,” Nelson said when asked if he has any sense of what will happen over the next few days. “Everything will sort itself out, I mean that. It’s a lot to that goes into it, a lot of different things, first and foremost. I’ve had conversations with Lou and I’ve been honest, and I really, truly have just been worried about here and doing everything we can to win.”
The 33-year-old scored 37, 36, and 34 goals in each of the last three seasons, and has 20 in 61 games this season — production that any contending team would love to insert directly in the middle of its top six for the stretch run. His contributions were recognized with his naming to Team USA for last month’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
“First of all, he’s a quality person. He cares about the game,” his head coach, Patrick Roy, said. “It’s nice to see the way he approaches the game and the way he prepares and the way he plays the game. He’s been a leader on our team, and it’s nice to see him get recognized form, let’s say, Team USA and be a part of the [4 Nations Face-Off]. It’s well-deserved and I”m happy for him. Good things happen when you do good things and it’s exactly what this is… He’s had a lot of success and it’s nice to see him achieving those milestones.”
If this is in fact it for Nelson, he goes down as one of the greatest post-dynasty Islanders to suit up for the team. He is one of just five players in franchise history with 900 games played, passing the legendary Bobby Nystrom on Tuesday night for fourth all-time with his 901st appearance with the team. He ranks fifth in team history with 294 goals and his 572 points rank eighth.
With his 20th goal of the season on Tuesday night, he also became just the seventh player in team history to record nine or more 20-plus goal seasons, joining Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy, John Tavares, and current teammate and captain, Anders Lee.
Lee has not quite experienced the avalanche of trade rumors that Nelson has this season. He hit free agency in the summer of 2019 and signed a seven-year deal to remain with the Islanders, but the captain of seven years and Nelson’s teammate for 12 has been an advisor, of sorts, while the rumor mill has shifted into overdrive.
“Just be a friend for him,” Lee said. “It’s not any more complicated than that. See how he’s doing. Be there if he needs anything. We’ve been together for a long time, so we understand one another pretty well. We’ve had a great friendship and it’s been a pleasure to be his teammate and I hope it continues that way.”
This could very well be a bitter ending, of sorts, for one of the franchise’s great players over the last 40 years. But the unstoppable march of Father Time has made his dealing a necessity. The window that saw the Islanders reach two straight Stanley Cup semifinals shut three years ago and Lamoriello has done his best to hang on to the majority of the core that got them there.
“I sure am hoping he’s here [after the deadline],” veteran defenseman Ryan Pulock, who has been Nelson’s teammate for the last 10 years, said. “This guys’ been an elite goal scorer an elite two-way center since I’ve been here… He’s set an example here for a long time… he’s been a staple here.”
