EAST MEADOW, NY — New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson is entering a contract year, but it doesn’t sound like getting an extension done before the start of the season is a must.
“I’m indifferent,” Nelson said following Wednesday’s practice. “I know that’s the backside of it, but at the same time, right now, it’s just about coming in here, working, playing, having fun, and worrying about your game.”
The soon-to-be 33-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down offensively, scoring 37, 36, and 34 goals in the last three seasons.
And there’s no question that Nelson wants to remain on Long Island, where he’s played his entire 11-year career since being drafted 30th overall in 2010.
There’s really no reason the Islanders and Nelson’s camp can’t eventually reach an agreement with some kind of team discount.
“All of that will sort itself out. I’m pretty comfortable with Lou [Lamoriello], and I have a great relationship with him,” Nelson said. “We’ll sort things out and see how it plays out.”
When we spoke with Lamoriello at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas, he said that signing players like Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, Noah Dobson, and Alexander Romanov to extensions wasn’t the priority.
Building the best team was.
Nelson’s production will dip at some point in his career, but there’s no reason to think, especially in a more aggressive system under Patrick Roy, that the fallout will come in 2024-25.
However, nothing in sports is guaranteed, and if the Islanders find themselves out of a playoff spot — and we mean way out by March 7th’s NHL Trade Deadline — Nelson becomes a valuable trade asset.
So, waiting may be in the Islanders’ best interest, knowing that Nelson is comfortable playing in the moment and putting a potential extension on the side.
Nelson carries a $6 million cap hit with a 16-team no-trade list.
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