Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Islanders grades for $14.55 million contract extension

It feels like Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been in trade rumors for the New York Islanders for his entire career on Long Island, which makes this contract extension even more ironic at the 2026 trade deadline. Pagaeu isn’t going to lead the Islanders in scoring or consistently play in the top-six, but there is some value in what he brings to Patrick Roy’s squad.

Pageau has been a consistent presence in New York’s lineup since joining the team at the 2020 trade deadline. The Islanders acquired him to bolster their playoff lineup that season, and the team had back-to-back solid postseason runs with Pageau playing a massive role. They haven’t been able to make it past the first round in the past four seasons, but they hope their new-look lineup this season could get them back into contention.

Pageau is the type of player that excels in the postseason, much like Brayden Schenn, whom they acquired at the trade deadline. It wouldn’t have made a ton of sense if Mathieu Darche had traded Pageau to another team and then acquired Schenn, since the two centers complement each other well. Schenn will now center the second line with Ondrej Palat and Calum Ritchie, while Pageau will move down to a more comfortable position on the third line with captain Anders Lee and Simon Holmstrom.

The Islanders can do much worse than Bo Horvat, Schenn, and Pageau down the middle. If New York is serious about contending this season, they had to keep that type of lineup, and Pageau as the team’s checking line center for the next three seasons at a manageable $4.85 million cap hit offers solid value.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Islanders contract grades 

Pageau is one of those players who, to the naked eye, doesn’t offer a whole ton of value. However, he is valuable to the type of team Roy wants to ice, as he wins over 60% of his faceoffs, averages over two-and-a-half minutes of shorthanded time per game, and, over a seven-game playoff series, will agitate the other team’s best players. He is also consistently around 40 points per game as an Islander, and should come close to that mark again this season.

The salary is a small price to pay, given that the salary cap is rising. In three years, if Pageau keeps up this level of production at both ends of the ice, Darche isn’t going to worry about paying the two-way center. At 33, how this contract will age is a bit of a concern, but not enough to drop the Islanders’ grade dramatically. Pageau also gets some security for the next two seasons, as the Islanders gave him a no-trade clause for the first two years of the deal.

Islanders grade: A-

Jean-Gabriel Pageau grade: A

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