The New York Islanders have two of the very best players in the NHL at a combined cap hit of $6.36 million, but they're on the verge of wasting such a rare luxury.

Everyone knows John Tavares is one of the game's elite players, but it's also time to start using the "E" word for rookie sensation Mathew Barzal.

Coming off his third five-point night this season (in one of the craziest hockey games in recent memory), Barzal now has 58 points in 56 games, and the Isles hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by a single point.

Fringe playoff teams generally struggle to put the puck in the net, but the Isles are an exception.

The Islanders are in an unusual situation: They have a prolific offense, and they are in win-now mode (unlike the Avs), but they don't have a clear path toward the postseason.

Why does this matter? Well, frankly, it is much easier to make a significant improvement to your team defensively at the trade deadline than it is offensively. And the Islanders have a lot of holes defensively.

On a per-game basis, they rank dead last in goals against, save percentage, shots against, scoring chances against, and high-danger scoring chances against (the latter two at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick).

The Isles are merely a goaltender and a blue-liner or two away from being a team that nobody would want to face in the playoffs. A bit more defensive structure wouldn't hurt, either. Despite this, general manager Garth Snow seems disinclined to make the necessary trade deadline push.

Snow has recently said he's "comfortable" with the team's goaltending situation, and isn't interested in trading high picks for rental players.

What Snow has on his hands is a situation every GM and head coach covets: an offense that is never out of a game. Failing to address the team's defensive needs would be a colossal management error, and not just because he'd be passing up the chance to turn the Islanders into a legit contender; if Snow doesn't make a push, Tavares may be less inclined to sign a long-term extension with a team that doesn't appear to prioritize winning.

Snow has no excuses, either. Thanks to the haul he received from the Calgary Flames for Travis Hamonic this offseason, the Islanders have two first-round picks, and two second-round picks in the upcoming draft - plenty of ammunition to make deadline moves without mortgaging the future.

Furthermore, the Islanders project to have nearly $7 million in deadline cap space, per Cap Friendly. If they're able to sign Tavares long term, his $5.5-million cap hit might double. Barzal is on the first year of his entry-level contract. The time to strike is now, while cap space isn't an issue.

While the Islanders could explore many avenues to improving their goal prevention, the Detroit Red Wings - the Isles' opponent in their most recent game - seem like an ideal trade partner. Not only are the Wings rebuilding, but they have two solid goaltenders, and the top rental defenseman available. Here's a possible trade scenario:

Related: Red Wings should deal thriving Mrazek to cement high draft pick

Ho-Sang is in need of a fresh start, and Soderstrom, a goaltending prospect, is struggling mightily this season in Sweden after a strong 2016-17. Mrazek's overall numbers aren't pretty, but he's played great lately, and at 25 years old, could be more than a short-term solution. He and Jaroslav Halak would form a solid duo.

In a corresponding move, the Isles would place Thomas Greiss ($3.3-million cap hit) and his 4.03 goals-against average on waivers, then bury him in the minors for the rest of the season when he goes unclaimed.

Green, meanwhile, would solidify a shaky blue line and help an already potent power play. With him on the back end, the team's defensive corps suddenly doesn't look that bad.

The Islanders could also add another defenseman in a separate trade to upgrade from Pelech/Pulock. If you're going all in, might as well do it right.

A first- and second-round pick plus a prospect might be enough to land Ryan McDonagh ($4.7M cap hit through 2018-19), though trading with a regional rival seems unlikely. It's possible the Arizona Coyotes could make Niklas Hjalmarsson ($4.1M through 2018-19) available. Otherwise, a veteran rental could do the trick.

Would these moves make the Islanders Stanley Cup favorites? No, but if they played to their ability, they would certainly be capable of upsetting a team such as the Washington Capitals in the first round. With two of the most dynamic centers in the league on your team, almost anything is possible. Snow needs to take full advantage while they're both vastly underpaid.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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The Edmonton Oilers recalled defenseman Keegan Lowe from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors, the team announced Saturday.

Lowe, 24, skated in two NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2014-15 campaign, but failed to register a point. In 35 contests with the Condors this season, he has two goals and eight assists.

If the name sounds familiar, it's because he's the son of longtime Oilers executive and former player Kevin Lowe.

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Mike Babcock is a passionate coach, and a pretty straightforward, stern individual. However, when his Toronto Maple Leafs won the 2016 draft lottery for the rights to select Auston Matthews first overall, his emotions got the best of him.

"Well, we got Auston," Babcock told TSN's Kristen Shilton while discussing the team's progress over the last few seasons. "But what if we (didn't)? I remember when we got to three (in the draft lottery), I was jumping up in the living room. When we got to one, tears. People don't understand. You need real players."

Most Leafs fans can probably relate to Babcock's reaction.

On Day 1, Matthews showed he was the real deal by scoring four goals in his first game. Through his first 128 NHL games, he's now collected 65 goals and 112 points.

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P.K. Subban and Shea Weber will square off against their former clubs when the Montreal Canadiens host the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

The franchise defensemen were famously traded for each other in June 2016, and their careers took on different trajectories afterward.

Below, we review how the Predators and Canadiens - along with Subban and Weber - have fared since the blockbuster deal.

Team statistics

Upon first glance, it would appear Nashville merely possesses a slight edge over Montreal. However, if you consider the Canadiens flew out of the gate last season to a 13-1-1 mark before their record stabilized, the disparity between the two teams becomes more evident. The Predators ultimately went to the Stanley Cup Final last season and few would be surprised to see them playing again this June with another shot at the title. Meanwhile, the Canadiens have devolved into disarray, toiling near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Subban vs. Weber

Many wondered why Montreal would trade a younger, healthier defenseman nearing his apex in Subban for a player in the latter stages of his prime in Weber. And Subban has been the far superior player since the deal, although Weber's totals have been inflated by an unsustainable 12 power-play goals he scored in 2016-2017. The tale of the tape appears closer than expected on the surface, but the Predators should still be tried for grand larceny after stealing Subban away - a hypothesis supported by statistics, the eye test, and team performance.

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The Washington Capitals signed Lars Eller to a five-year contract extension with an average annual value of $3.5 million, the team announced Saturday.

Eller has 11 goals and 28 points in 53 games this season, putting him on pace for career highs in both categories, all while serving as Washington's third-line center behind Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom.

The 28-year-old was the 13th overall pick by the St. Louis Blues back in 2007. He spent six years with the Montreal Canadiens before joining the Caps last season. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 prior to the extension.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled their Stadium Series uniforms for when they take on the Washington Capitals at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland on March 3. Further details of their all-white getup can be seen here.

The "Ready, Aye, Ready" lettering featured inside the collar is the motto of the Royal Canadian Navy.

This will be Toronto's second consecutive season with an outdoor game as they took on the Detroit Red Wings at BMO Field in Toronto last year.

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The NHL has never been better stocked with such a variety of different players, many of whom bring a unique skill set and disposition to the game.

In the modern era, there is a premium on speed, skill, and playmaking ability - essential qualities to keep up with the blazing pace of the professional ranks.

Although there are numerous players who have contributed to the current dynamic of the league, three stand alone, walking their own path fearlessly while leading their respective teams.

Johnny Gaudreau

There are few players who embody the trajectory of the modern era more than Johnny Hockey.

Selected 104th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, Gaudreau was overlooked repeatedly by 29 other teams due to his physical stature, standing at 5-foot-9, 157 lbs. In the seven years that have followed, Gaudreau has made the league's scouting personnel look silly, serving as the catalyst for the Flames' offense.

Gaudreau has taken advantage of the NHL's crackdown on slashing better than anyone by using his outstanding anticipatory instincts and ability to create in narrow spaces. The 24-year-old moves with a fluidity that few possess, which allows him to get his shot off from nearly all angles, and he can create scoring chances off rebounds and deflections which others simply cannot.

He may be undersized but Gaudreau can evade oncoming defenders with ease and punishes overzealous defenders with routine frequency, while inadvertently creating more room for his linemates to attack the net. Gaudreau may look like a spectator but count him out at your own peril.

Brad Marchand

If you focus merely on Marchand's preternatural ability to annoy his opponents, you will almost certainly miss out on his immense skill set. Marchand is one of the NHL's marquee players and if he drives the opposition crazy, it's an added bonus.

Marchand is an elite scorer and to not treat him as such would be absurd at this juncture of his career, as he leads the NHL in points per game. Although he doesn't seem outwardly imposing at 5-foot-9 and 182 lbs, Marchand is an outstanding forechecker and his speed, along with his fearlessness to create contact with larger defenders, makes him a threat at all times.

The 29-year-old is outstanding at creating his own chances and is quietly one of the best playmakers in the league. On pace for his third consecutive 30-plus goal season, Marchand is better than his outdated reputation would suggest.

Marchand is the definition of a clutch player and his resume speaks volumes, with a Stanley Cup - including two goals in Game 7 of the 2011 finals - two World Junior gold medals, a World Cup gold medal, and a World Championship gold. Call Marchand a pest if you'd like, but he is the focal point of one of the NHL's best lines and can take over the game at will. You can choose to be upset but Marchand simply doesn't care.

Erik Karlsson

In a league full of talented, robust defensemen, there simply isn't another player like Karlsson.

Karlsson is gifted with otherworldly speed that is only matched by Edmonton's Connor McDavid, and can veer into the offensive zone without sacrificing anything defensively. A wizard with the puck, Karlsson injects life into any powerplay and functions as a de facto fourth forward while controlling the pace of the game. In doing so, Karlsson often presents an impossible conundrum for the rest of the league: Try to pick him off on a surge up the ice or get hopelessly caught out of position while he breezes by with blazing strides and offensive awareness.

There is no defenseman with better vision or anticipatory instincts, and Karlsson appears to be playing chess while everyone else plays checkers, mapping out the game several moves ahead of the opposition. Karlsson assesses a multitude of options with unmatched decision-making and he's rarely outsmarted, choosing to play at a pace that no one else can match. In doing so, Karlsson makes the game look effortless, an optical tactic which seems almost unfair.

There is a good reason why teams are preparing for a bidding war for Karlsson's services, even if there's no guarantee he'll ever leave the only franchise he's ever known. The NHL is full of unique talents, but none that combine every aspect of the modern game quite like Karlsson.

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Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.