Brock Nelson isn't tipping his hand about his future with Islanders
Islanders center Brock Nelson sets before a face-off against the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period of an NHL game at UBS Arena on Feb. 4. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Brock Nelson knows everybody wants to know.
But the pending unrestricted free agent is not tipping his hand when it comes to remaining an Islander.
He was asked during a group media session in Montreal on Tuesday in advance of the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament what he wanted for his future.
“I want what’s best for me, family, team and everything,” Nelson told the media. “So, there’s a lot of factors that go into it. I know everybody kind of wants an answer right now. But that’s not how the world works. You don’t always get what you want.”
Nelson is expected to skate in a fourth-line role for Team USA, which plays its first game against Finland on Thursday night at Bell Centre.
Nelson, 33, is completing a six-year, $36 million deal and has a 16-team no trade list with the NHL trade deadline looming on March 7. His agent, Ben Hankinson, and Islanders president/general manager Lou Lamoriello are expected to continue contract extension talks this week.
Lamoriello will have a tough decision if it’s clear Nelson wants to set his worth via the free-agent market.
“Lou wants to win,” Nelson said. “He wants to win right now. He believes in the group and I think everybody in the room believes in the group as well.”
The Islanders are still in the race for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot but Nelson would likely be a top target for stronger contenders seeking a top-six forward trade rental for their playoff push.
“If you can get better, you’re going to get better,” Lamoriello said on Feb. 1. “But every decision today has to affect tomorrow.”
Not trading Nelson would mean risk losing him for nothing in July.
“I know there’s a lot of speculation from outside and different things and people have already decided for me a couple times what’s going to happen,” Nelson said. “It’s all outside and we’ll handle everything and everything will sort itself out.
“Lou is a great guy. I love playing for him. He’s a great man. He’s done a lot for me. He’s given me a great opportunity the last seven years I’ve had him and he’s an influential guy in hockey in general.”
Nelson, from Warroad, Minnesota – hence the increasing speculation he’ll wind up with the Wild – has 17 goals and 18 assists in 55 games this season and 292 goals and 274 assists in 895 games for the Islanders, who selected him 30th overall in 2010. His 566 career points are tied with Pat LaFontaine for eighth all-time in Islanders’ history.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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