Devils trade Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac to Islanders

April 7 (UPI) -- The New York Islanders acquired star winger Kyle Palmieri and veteran center Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.

The Devils traded Palmieri -- one of the most coveted forwards ahead of Monday's NHL trade deadline -- and Zajac to the Islanders in exchange for forwards A.J. Greer and Mason Jobst. New Jersey also received the Islanders' first-round pick in the 2021 draft and a conditional fourth-round selection in 2022.

"Looking back to the last five-plus years, it's hard to imagine how grateful I am and how fortunate I was to be able to play in front of my family, and for the organization that I grew up playing in their youth hockey organization," Palmieri said in a statement. "I'm incredibly grateful for my time in New Jersey and I made a lot of great friends.

"It's an awesome organization and a lot of friendships with teammates that will last a lifetime."

The Devils retained 50% of the salaries for Palmieri and Zajac to make the trade work under the salary cap. Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents after the season.

Palmieri has recorded eight goals and nine assists in 34 games this season. He scored 132 goals for the Devils from 2015-20.

Zajac, who waived his no-trade clause to join the Islanders, has 18 points in 33 games in the 2020-21 season. He had been a member of the Devils since the 2006-07 campaign, playing all 1,024 of his games for the franchise.