2015 NHL Draft: Tampa Bay Lightning Trade First Round Pick To Islanders

The Tampa Bay Lightning elected to trade their one and only First Round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft to the New York Islanders in exchange for the 33rd and 72nd overall picks..

The regular season has come and gone, and now the post season has as well. Now, the eyes of the hockey world have turned to next season. Before all the Prospect Camps open up there is one more piece of business that needs to be attended to; the 2015 NHL Draft.

Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman, Director of Amateur Scouting Al Murray, and the Lightning’s scouting team headed to the BB&T Center in Sunrise in search of the future of the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had just one pick in the First Round of the Draft. With players like Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel off the boards in the first two overall selections, the pressure is truly lifted and the Lightning have so many opportunities in front of them.

As the moments passed by and the teams made their selections, we found ourselves getting closer and closer to the edge of their seats; soon, the Tampa Bay Lightning would be heading to the stage to make their selection.

As you can imagine, every single time Yzerman picked up the phone people were in a panic. Questions like “who is he trading?” and “Did Yzerman just make a deal?” flooded the internet. Still, we all anxiously awaited the outcome as the anticipation came to a boiling point.

Finally, the Tampa Bay Lightning was on the clock. The Tampa Bay Lightning fans in attendance began to cheer as the Lightning’s video came on the video screen overhead. Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Lightning were on the clock for the whole of five seconds before everything stopped and National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman took the stage.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had made a trade.

It turns out that Yzerman was, in fact, making a deal in one of his many phone calls. Steve Yzerman had elected to trade the Lightning’s 28^th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft to the New York Islanders in exchange for their 33^rd and 72^nd overall picks in the draft.

While we were initially just as disappointed as you were to have no new addition to the team in one of the biggest nights in the year, after we stopped for a moment we realized that Yzerman does have a plan in play here. We may not know what it is at the moment, but we can assure you he knows what he is doing when he makes a move like this one.

It makes perfect sense when you stop to think about it. Yzerman has stated that he was looking for skill and not need in this year’s draft. There are plenty of skilled players available in this year’s draft so if trading down a few places allows you to gain an extra selection, then you most certainly end up on the winning side of this trade.

On the downside, it means that we have to wait for tomorrow to see who the Tampa Bay Lightning will add to their list of talented prospects that we will see when Prospect Camp opens next week. At the same time, we will sleep well tonight knowing that we believe in the Yzer-Plan.

What do you think about Yzerman’s decision to trade our 28^th overall selection to the Islanders? What do you think Yzerman has in store for us with the extra selection he was able to pick up? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Next: Steve Yzerman Wins General Manager of the Year

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