ANAHEIM, Calif. — After the trade deadline came and went quietly for the Islanders, the next pivot point in the roster construction will come four months from now when free agency begins.
That is not just because of the seven players on the roster whose contracts expire, but because of the four who will become extension eligible July 1, with Brock Nelson the biggest question mark on the list.
Nelson, 32, has spent his 11-year career with the Islanders and an extension would likely cement him as an Islander For Life.
He is a cornerstone piece of the core whose best years have come with age — he is on pace to easily surpass the 30-goal mark for a third straight season.
The focus has not yet turned to what his next contract will look like for player or team.
But how negotiations are handled on both sides will be a fascinating question, with the Islanders needing to keep Nelson happy without handing away bloated terms, the salary cap set to rise by an approximate $4.2 million this summer and three other key pieces — Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov and Kyle Palmieri — also extension eligible.
“I think you wait for that time frame to open up before you really entertain going down that road,” Nelson told The Post before netting three assists in a 7-2 win over San Jose on Thursday night. “That’s probably an avenue you don’t really want to focus on in season.”
Dobson, whose own value has grown exponentially this season, was equally focused on the playoff push.
“We’re playing these meaningful games where we’re trying to get a playoff spot,” he told The Post. “You’re focusing all your energy and time on that. That other stuff’s all stuff that you can reflect on and look into at the end of the season. Once you’re in the season, I find you’re in that zone and you’re not really paying attention to any of that outside noise.”
The 24-year-old defenseman, however, has a long way to go before the possibility of spending his career in the same location coalesces into potential reality.
For Nelson, that might come as soon as July 1.
“For me, it’s one day at a time. You never know what happens,” he said when asked about spending the rest of his career on the Island. “There’s a lot of hypothetical speculation — you can talk about future and long term and being in one spot. You can’t really control the future. [There’s] no crystal ball.“For me, I love it in New York, living on Long Island, raising a family, I think it’s great. For me, I’m happy to be here.”
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