Trade buzz growing around young Islanders winger Maxim Tsyplakov

Last season, the New York Islanders debuted 27-year old Russian winger Maxim Tsyplakov, who came to the NHL with plenty of hype after putting up 47 in his final season in the KHL.

In his rookie campaign, Tsyplakov put together a very impressive campaign, tallying 10 goals and 35 points across 77 games played as he became a very solid piece for this team moving forward.

Last week, that led to Elliotte Friedman reporting that Tsyplakov was getting plenty of interest around the league, despite tallying just 1 goal through 20 games played in 2025/26.

When asked about his current situation, Tsyplakov revealed that he's not too happy being the 14th forward on this roster, as he'd love to actually get playing time, leading to more speculation over his future.

While he's only got the one goal this season, talent like he flashed in his rookie campaign simply doesn't disappear, as this is likely a situation where a change of environment would do a player wonders as he looks to turn his NHL career around.

Ultimately, the Islanders were hoping that Tsyplakov would become a key piece of their top-six moving forward after a solid rookie campaign in the NHL, but that simply hasn't happened, and while the team are currently denying they want to move him, it appears to be a matter of when, not if he's dealt by New York.