The New York Islanders contorted their roster to keep three goalies around so they could keep Jean-Francois Berube. If reports end up being accurate, they’ve now expended similar energy to get him to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
Newsday’s Arthur Staple backs up a report from TSN’s Bob McKenzie that the Islanders paid a fee to get Vegas to take Berube instead of a host of other valuable players, including Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, and Calvin de Haan.
The specifics of the “ransom” are in doubt, though it sounds like the Islanders’ first-rounder (15th overall in 2017) could be part of a package that also includes Mikhail Grabovski’s contract.
Staple reports that there might be a little bit more to the swap, however.
Now I'm hearing there's another element to this #Isles deal with Vegas... We'll see in a few hours what it is.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) June 21, 2017
Either way, it’s a relief for an Islanders team that seemingly exposed some serious talent. It’s also a strangely fitting end to the odd story of Berube with this franchise.
Berube, 25, struggled with the Islanders but showed promise at the AHL level. It will be interesting to see where his career goes from here, particularly if the Golden Knights end up with more goalies than they can wheel and deal.