NHL insider Chris Johnston clears the air around $36,000,000 star's future with NY Islanders amidst rumored interest from Maple Leafs

The New York Islanders may or may not be trading Brock Nelson. New York is five points out of the playoff race and fading, and Nelson is in the final year of his six-year contract.

Many teams are reportedly interested in him, including the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, hockey insider Chris Johnston clarified that there's no direct connection between Nelson, who signed a $36 million deal in 2019 (per Spotrac), and the Maple Leafs.

"The Leafs I haven't heard, are connected directly to Nelson, just because I think there's still some uncertainty out there if he's actually available," Johnston said on Tuesday (26:00), via 'First Up.'" But, you know, be curious to see, you know, the Islanders losing again last night to the Rangers. And really, you know, getting more distant from their playoff aspirations. If he becomes available."

Johnston doesn't know if Nelson is available or if there's just some smoke based on the interest of other teams. New York isn't completely out of the race yet, but they have to decide if they can make a run with Nelson by the March 7 trade deadline.

If they decide to move on from him, teams like Toronto could stand to gain, but there hasn't been any real reporting that those two sides have communicated and worked on a deal.

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NY Islanders remain committed to Brock Nelson

Things can change quickly around the trade deadline; however, New York isn't actively shopping Brock Nelson. According to Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello, Nelson is still a key contributor.

Brock Nelson might not even be available (Imagn)

"He's an Islander and he's certainly an integral part of our team," Lamoriello said to TSN's Pierre LeBrun on Friday.

LeBrun believes the lack of clarity on Nelson is clogging up the market.

"He's kind of holding up a lot of things," LeBrun said. "There's so many teams looking for center help. But there's still no clear indication from the New York Islanders that Brock Nelson will actually be made available."

New York has until 3:00 p.m. EST on Friday, but other teams may not wait to see what happens with Nelson before pulling the trigger on other potential trades.