It's the middle of August, and Nazem Kadri is still a free agent. It's almost unthinkable, but it makes you wonder if he's signed with the one team that has a general manager who doesn't see it necessary to announce signings.

That team is the New York Islanders, and that general manager is Lou Lamoriello. There appeared to be some smoke when Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported an offer on the table for the former Colorado Avalanche center. However, Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff.com extinguished that fire last week when he said that Kadri turned it down and is still talking to other teams.

There are fans in the New York area who are hoping that maybe Kadri is, in fact, an Islander already and that there will be a reveal in training camp. Anyone familiar with the way Lamoriello operates knows that he works in total secrecy. But this is a little shortsighted.

If Kadri had already signed a contract, it would have passed through NHL central registry. I find it hard to believe that multiple insiders wouldn't find out about a transaction of that magnitude. Could he have a handshake deal in place with the Islanders? It's certainly possible.

But does it even make sense for this club? He would make the Islanders better, but it's not exactly a good fit.

Positional Fit

The Islanders already have three centers in Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Kadri, a Stanley Cup winner coming off an 87-point season, isn't signing with a team to play on the fourth line. He could move out to the wing, but two sources have told me that he isn't as effective there.

It's worth noting that he played on the wing during the Stanley Cup Final and did well there. The Avs wanted to minimize the impact on his injured thumb, so a move to the wing prevented him from having to take faceoffs.

He scored a goal in Game 4 of the Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning (although Jon Cooper probably still thinks it shouldn't have counted).

If moving Kadri to the wing is the plan, the Islanders will need to clear some cap space. The logical candidate to be moved is winger Anthony Beauvillier, who does not have no-trade protection and has a cap hit of $4.2 million over the next two years.

You could make the argument for Pageau, but Lamoriello gave up a lot to acquire him in 2020 and is unlikely to give up on a player that took so much to get.