Islanders trade Brock Nelson to Avalanche in NHL deadline blockbuster

SAN JOSE, Calif.— The head vs.

heart calculus which has tugged at the Islanders’ decision-making, or lack thereof, over the last month finally hit an inflection point late Thursday evening.The Islanders said goodbye to Brock Nelson, trading one of the deadline’s biggest dominos to Colorado along with prospect William Dufour for Cal Ritchie, Oliver Kylington, a first-round pick in either 2026 or 2027 and a conditional third-round pick in 2028.In short order, the Islanders then flipped Kylington to the Ducks for future considerationsThe first-round pick will transfer to 2027 unless it falls in the top 10 this season, which is extraordinarily unlikely barring some kind of disaster on the part of Colorado.The third-round pick will convey if the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup this season and Nelson plays in at least 50 percent of their playoff games.The Islanders retained 50 percent of the money left on Nelson’s contract, equivalent to a $3 million cap hit, as part of the deal.This was a moment, and this is now a trade deadline, four years in the making.

The Islanders resisted fundamental change to the core ever since a COVID-19 outbreak derailed their 2021-22 season, drifting into mediocrity as a result.There is no more fundamental change than moving Nelson, a career Islander and alternate captain whose number should one day hang in the UBS Arena rafters.This was the move the Islanders did not make in 2018, when they hung onto John Tavares in the doomed hope that he would re-sign that summer.

This was the prudent move, and the one that will tug on the heartstrings for a fan base that watched Nelson grow up on Long Island.And in a sellers’ market, the Islanders’ return looks like a haul, with Ritchie — a 2023 first-round pick considered to be an elite prospect — as the centerpiece.A native of Oakville, Ontario, Ritchie made his NHL debut in October, playing seven games with the Avalanche before going back to his OHL club in Oshawa.

The 20-year-old has ...