The conversation happened over the summer, not long after Barry Trotz was hired to coach the Islanders and not long after Brock Nelson signed his one-year, $4.25-million contract, betting on himself to have a decent final season before unrestricted free agency.



Trotz called Nelson to chat as the 2018-19 season loomed. The Islanders, you may have heard, lost John Tavares in free agency; the only center that Lou Lamoriello added was Valtteri Filppula, who at 34 was not exactly in line to replace the departed star and captain.



So Trotz knew that, even with Mathew Barzal in the fold, the Islanders needed another top-two center to make whatever success they might have this season work. Without any other options, basically, Trotz knew he needed Nelson.



“I said, ‘I always looked at you as an opposing coach and I thought you had more,'” Trotz said on Saturday. “‘I don’t know you, I’m not with you day in and day out, but I...