New York Islanders Officially Trade Brock Nelson

With the NHL Trade Deadline starting to hit its frenzy point, we have another big deal and this time it's for potentially the most talked about trade target for 2025: Brock Nelson.

It was reported by Elliotte Friedman that the Islanders have a package in place to deal the long-time forward and pending free agent to the Colorado Avalanche.

The move is one that will no doubt change the landscape of the NHL's playoff picture and could be pivotal in Colorado's push to the Cup this season.

The full trade was revealed by the Islanders' official X account.

Colorado receives both Nelson and power forward William Dufour meanwhile the Islanders receive forward Calum Ritchie, a 2026 or 2027 first rounder, Oliver Kylington, and a 2028 conditional third round pick.

It brings Nelson's career with Long Island to an end, and has been the heart and soul of the team since John Tavares left to join the Maple Leafs.

Nelson, 33, has 43 points in 61 games this season (20G, 23A).

It brings the saga of whether or not Nelson was going to stay with the Islanders past this season. There were reports that he was offered a three-year extension however it seems that either the money, or team direction wasn't satisfactory for the veteran.

Ritchie, 20, was Colorado's 27th overall pick in 2023, and had a small stint with the team at the beginning of the season. In seven games with the Avalanche he scored one goal and was a minus-7.

The rest of the pieces come more as depth at least in terms of players; Kylington is a two-way blueliner who has dealt with a fair bit of injuries recently.

In 13 games this season, he's only registered four points (1G, 3A) in 12:59 TOI. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Dufour has only played one game with the team back in 2022-23 and only played 6:48 altogether.

He's a bruising power forward who will provide some insurance depth for the Avalanche come playoff time; he was New York's 152nd overall pick in 2020.

The picks do come with some additional rules attached as well.

Kylington however wasn't sticking around long, as immediately afterward he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks.

It's already a wild trade deadline with some big names headed elsewhere and now that one of the first big fishes has been caught; who's the next prized catch?