Islanders trade for Blues center Brayden Schenn, extend Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Brayden Schenn of the St. Louis Blues on March 4, 2026. Credit: Getty Images/Steph Chambers
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche set up his team for the playoff push and for the upcoming seasons before Friday's NHL trade deadline.
The Islanders acquired forward Brayden Schenn, who has two seasons remaining on an eight-year, $52 million deal that includes a 16-team no-trade clause, from the Blues for a package that included underperforming top-six wing Jonathan Drouin.
They also re-signed heretofore pending unrestricted free agent Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The versatile third-line center, who is completing a six-year, $30 million contract, agreed to a three-year, $14.55 million deal.
“I don’t want us to take a step backward,” Darche said on a Zoom teleconference shortly after the moves were announced. “If I bring in Brayden and I trade Pageau, then we just did the same thing. I wanted to augment the team.”
The Islanders also sent 2026 first- and third-round picks and 20-year-old goalie prospect Marcus Gidlof to the Blues for their captain. The teams will play on Tuesday night in St. Louis to conclude the Islanders’ four-game road trip, and Schenn is expected to play when they face the Sharks on Saturday night at SAP Center.
Darche said Schenn likely will start his Islanders tenure as a center; he also can play wing. Rookie Cal Ritchie likely will slide to wing.
Conveniently, the Blues were staying at the same San Jose hotel on Friday as the Islanders, so Schenn didn’t even have to change rooms.
“It’s been kind of a crazy morning,” he told TSN Trade Centre. “They gave me an hour, hour and a half notice. I talked to family, friends, then got to meet [coach] Patrick Roy and Mathieu Darche, so I met them on a different floor and got asked to waive [his no-trade protection]. It kind of is happening pretty fast with how it’s all working.”
Schenn, 34, has 290 goals and 423 assists in 1,083 games in 17 NHL seasons, the last nine with the Blues. He also has played for the Kings and Flyers. He has 12 goals and 16 assists in 61 games this season.
The Islanders (35-23-5) are in third place in the Metropolitan Division and are battling to remain in a playoff spot after dropping the first two games of their road trip. They lost to the Ducks, 5-1, on Wednesday night and to the Kings, 5-3, on Thursday night.
Darche said he obviously didn’t make his trade decision based on two games, but those losses did make Schenn’s leadership and physicality more attractive.
“Bottom line, we’re tied for second place in our division [in points] and I wanted to give us a little push,” Darche said. “And yes, part of the way we played the last two, I think Brayden makes a difference. You want to play hard. I felt we were a bit more passive the last few games. Maybe the urgency could have been a bit higher. So guys like that will bring you into the fight.”
The Islanders’ remaining pending UFAs are captain Anders Lee, defenseman Tony DeAngelo and goalie David Rittich. Asked specifically about Lee, Darche said the two spoke before the season and agreed to wait until the end of the season to engage in negotiations.
Darche said re-signing Pageau became a priority because of the high prices being paid for centers either via trade or free agency.
“You can never have too many centers,” said Darche, who also has Bo Horvat, natural center Mathew Barzal and Casey Cizikas signed to multiyear deals in addition to Schenn, Pageau and Ritchie. “I got into a discussion with [Pageau] the last week. I wanted to see if I’d be able to get a deal before risking losing him for nothing. It was a fairly easy negotiation. I think it’s a deal that fits for us going forward.”
The Islanders have approximately $3.5 million in space against the $95.5 million salary cap ceiling with goalie Semyon Varlamov, defenseman Alexander Romanov and forwards Pierre Engvall and Kyle Palmieri on long-term injured reserve. Darche said Romanov has a chance to return at some point in the playoffs.
Drouin is in the first season of a two-year, $8 million deal and was a key offseason signing by Darche. He has three goals and 18 assists in 55 games and has gone 38 games without a goal.
“I have nothing bad to say about Jo,” Darche said. “He came in with the right attitude. He just lost his confidence along the way. I’m confident he’ll find it again.”
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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