On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils finally made a move, trading Ondrej Palat and two draft picks to the New York Islanders for Maxim Tsyplakov. Palat was with the Devils for three and a half years and spent most of his time as the assistant captain. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said it all came together quickly, and he hasn’t given any thought to who is going to take over in a leadership role for the Devils.
On Wednesday, ahead of his Islanders debut, Palat spoke to the media about his thoughts post-trade. The first thing he mentioned is that he’ll keep his house in New Jersey for now (because living in New Jersey is great), but he went into a lot more about his emotions and how he sees he will fit in with the Islanders.
"I would love to produce a little more than in New Jersey, but I'm not here to score 50 goals in a season. I'm just here to bring the two-way game. That is very important in this league. Play the right way. "Ondrej Palat, Islanders forward
While he seems to know what he needs to do to be effective for the Islanders, Palat also admitted that he wasn’t able to really make an impact for the New Jersey Devils, at least in a way he expected himself to do. He called his season “obviously bad” and felt like a fresh start was important for him to move forward.
"(The Devils) traded me and now I'm here and I want to be better. Help the team to win. I played against this team, and it's always hard to play against this team. "Ondrej Palat, Islanders forward
The Devils made the move to open cap space, but it’s not clear yet what they are going to do with it. The Islanders are looking to make a run in a weak Eastern Conference. Right now, until we see what the Devils do with their newly-found $3.75 million in cap room, we won’t know who really won the trade.
After their loss on Tuesday night, the Devils are in a desperate spot, while the Islanders are the closest team to them in a playoff spot. Will the Devils watch as Palat helps his new team take their spot and run with it? Will they get to see what Playoff Palat is truly capable of?
Palat had a 10-team trade list that made it harder for Tom Fitzgerald to find him a home, but Palat admitted that the Islanders were not on his original list. He said that he waived his no-trade clause to change locations.
The Devils and Islanders face off a week from Thursday, with Palat playing in Newark for the first time since the trade. That’s an important game for both teams as it’s the last game before the Olympic break. The Devils can no longer claim Palat as an Olympic representative, as he represents Czechia in Milan.
Hear more from Palat, his new teammates and head coach Patrick Roy below.