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Insider reveals Oilers nearly struck a deal for Islanders forward at trade deadline


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Liam McCormick
March 27, 2025  (2:58 PM)
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JG Pageau with the New York Islanders
Photo credit: Imagn Images

According to new reports from NHL insiders, the Edmonton Oilers heavily pursued a trade for New York Islanders forward JG Pageau at the trade deadline, but were held up by Lou Lamiorello

Instead, the Oilers decided to add forward Trent Frederic as their big addition up front. The Oilers paid extra for double salary retention on Frederic, who has yet to debut with his new team.

Edmonton Oilers nearly struck deal for Islanders sniper JG Pageau

According to new reports from Mark D'Amico of RG, sources revealed the Oilers were close to completing a deal with the Islanders to acquire JG Pageau, but the deal fell apart due to salary retention and the Oilers assets to offer.
Multiple sources have informed RG that the Edmonton Oilers were interested in acquiring center Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the New York Islanders before eventually pivoting to Frederic.

The Islanders ultimately decided against the trade for two key reasons.

The first was their unwillingness to retain salary on Pageau's $5 million contract, which runs through the 2025-26 season. The second was a lack of interest in dealing veterans for a package centered around draft picks.

- Mark D'Amico, RG.org

The Oilers may have been unwilling to pay a premium for salary retention of $2.5M, and the Islanders uninterested in the prospects the Oilers could offer. New York is looking for younger players closer to making the NHL.
It's interesting to see the sizeable pivot the Oilers had to take to go from JG Pageau to Trent Frederic - two very different players.
Pageau is under contract for the next two years at $5M, which indicates the Oilers could've taken on more salary and player with term. Retention was ultimately a necessary part of the deal, but double retention of $5M is a lot less likely than it would be on Frederic.
Pageau is older at 32 years old and much more an NHL veteran than Frederic is with 786 games under his belt.
Ultimately, the younger and more physical option in Frederic was probably the better fit for the Oilers than Pageau, it's just unfortunate that he hasn't been able to join the lineup as of yet.
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Insider reveals Oilers nearly struck a deal for Islanders forward at trade deadline

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