NHL Rumors: Insider links $12,000,000 Islanders' D-man to Vancouver Canucks as New York eyes trade before deadline

On Monday, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman discussed trade rumors involving New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson. Dobson is signed to a three-year, $12,000,000 contract.

On the "32 Thoughts" podcast, Friedman said Dobson's name came up in trade talks about six weeks ago. However, he was unsure if the information was accurate, so he did not report it then.

Friedman later confirmed that Dobson had been mentioned in trade discussions, but only in specific cases. He said Dobson was not widely available, but the Isles might have considered moving him for the right deal.

"There’s too many teams who hadn’t heard it," Friedman said. "So I’ll say this: if Dobson was discussed, it was discussed in a specific case, or two, or how many it was. That there was one specific team, or one specific player, that the Islanders were looking at, and if they had gone down the road on that trade, then Dobson might’ve been included."

Friedman suggested that the Vancouver Canucks could be a possible landing spot, with the trade deadline on March 7 approaching.

This season, Dobson has recorded six goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 46 games. He averages 24:01 of ice time per game. Last season, he had a career-high 60 assists and 70 points. However, he needs to work on his defensive game.

New York Islanders will enter the 4 Nations Faceoff break aiming to fix the team's loopholes

With a record of 25-23-7, the Islanders are four points out of a playoff spot. They are sixth in the Metropolitan Division standings.

The Isles have lost three of their last five games. However, recently, they have had a seven-game win streak, which ended after their 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Feb. 2. So, the Isles will aim to fix their loopholes in the 4 Nations Faceoff break.