The New York Islanders have made another move prior to the NHL’s trade deadline, shipping defenceman Andrew MacDonald to the Philadelphia Flyers for a second round pick, a third round draft pick, and prospect Matt Mangene.

The 27-year-old MacDonald has played top pairing minutes for the Islanders this season, but was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in July, he currently has a $550,000 cap hit on the final year of a four-year $2.2 million contract. MacDonald will be looking for a big raise starting next season, and the sides had tried to work out a deal but reports indicated that MacDonald’s asking price was too high for New York’s tastes. This is especially true with the number of young defence prospects already in the Islanders system who could potentially replace him at a cheaper cost. The loss of John Tavares at the Olympics confirmed what most already believed to be true, the Islanders would be sellers at the NHL trade deadline.

MacDonald has four goals and 20 assists for 24 points in 63 games with the Islanders this season. He has spent his entire six-year NHL career with the team after being drafted in the sixth round, 160th overall of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Islanders. In 295 career NHL games, MacDonald has 17 goals and 72 assists for 89 career points.

The Flyers currently sit second in the Metropolitan division. However they only have a two-point lead on the Washington Capitals (4th place) and Columbus Blue Jackets (5th place) who are currently sitting out of the playoffs. The addition of some additional stability on the backend will be big for the Flyers as they hope to look down a playoff spot.

Mangene is a 24-year-old centre with three goals and three assists in 51 games with Adirondack in the AHL this year. He was signed as a free agent by the Flyers out of the University of Maine, and has not been able to make the transition to pro hockey. He will be a free agent at the end of the year. His inclusion in this trade is basically to keep the two teams in the same position on the NHL’s 50-man contract limit.

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