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The New Jersey Devils traded veteran winger Ondrej Palat, a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the New York Islanders for forward Maxim Tsyplakov, the teams announced Tuesday.
Palat, 34, was long part of trade rumors involving the Devils and the club found a partner in the Islanders as it held him out of a home game against the Winnipeg Jets for roster-management reasons. Reporters witnessed him leaving Prudential Center before the warmup skate.
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With the move, the Devils shed Palat’s $6 million cap hit that he has through next season. Palat signed a five-year, $30 million contract with New Jersey as a free agent in the summer of 2022 after spending the first 10 years of his NHL career with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He won the Stanley Cup twice with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
There is no salary retention on either side of this trade and Palat has a 10-team trade list and a no-movement clause, meaning his team cannot place him on waivers without player approval.
After landing Carson Soucy from the Rangers on Monday, the Islanders continued making roster upgrades, landing Palat from the Devils on Tuesday. Palat has a $6 million cap hit each of the next two seasons.
The Islanders also received the Devils’ 2026 third-round pick in the deal, as well as a 2027 sixth-round pick. New Jersey got back Tsyplakov. Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche acquired a player he’s familiar with in Palat. Darche was in Tampa Bay’s front office when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021, and Palat was a key cog in those teams.
He scored 40-plus points seven times with the Lightning, including a 63-point year in 2014-15. Now 34, the forward’s production dipped in New Jersey. He never had more than 31 points in a season with the Devils and has only four goals and 10 points this year. Per Hockey Stat Cards, which uses colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, he has a positive defensive rating (+0.6) but a negative one on offense (-4.8). He still will offer Islanders coach Patrick Roy someone he can trust in the lineup, and Darche got back a third-round pick to take on his contract. Essentially, the GM was able to add to his team while also gaining a pick equivalent to the one he gave up Monday for Soucy. Darche, Roy and the Islanders likely hope a change of scenery will suit Palat. Even if his numbers don’t see an uptick, he’ll bring leadership and experience to the dressing room.
The biggest aspect of the deal for New Jersey was getting off Palat’s contract. Tsyplakov, who is 27, is also a worthwhile flier to take. He had a 35-point season in 2024-25, his first in North America, and scored 10 goals. His numbers have plummeted this season: He has only one goal and one assist in 27 games. One of those points came on Monday, when he had an assist against Philadelphia. Tsyplakov is signed through 2026-27 at $2.25 million annually.