NHL Trade Rumors 2013: NY Islanders Looking To Trade Rick DiPietro?

The New York Islanders are looking to end the Rick DiPietro saga.

A number of reports in the last week have noted that the team is looking to get rid of the netminder that has caused the team grief and ridicule over the years.

CBC's Elliotte Friedman reported, "Here's what the New York Islanders are doing with Rick DiPietro. They are letting teams know that if they are interested in taking the goalie's contract off their hands, they will try to make it worthwhile," Friedman wrote in his "30 Thoughts" column. "They'll consider taking a bad contract in return, maybe even a draft pick (or picks) or prospects. Still, it won't be easy. "That will have to be one heck of an asset," said another GM. A buyout now would have DiPietro on your books until 2029."

Friedman's statement comes one week after TSN's Bob McKenzie tweeted that the Islanders were attempting to trade DiPietro for Vancouver's Roberto Luongo.

"It's believed NYI would, under right circumstances, have interest in VAN G Roberto Luongo, tho 1st order of biz is to gauge cost on Nabokov," McKenzie wrote on Twitter. "No question in my mind Luongo is a good 'hockey' fit for NYI but whether Isles or Canucks could ever finesse a workable deal is the issue."

DiPietro is currently signed with the Islanders until 2012 for a yearly cap hit of $3.575 million. The netminder only played three games for the Islanders in 2012-13 and was later demoted to the AHL after failing to provide adequate relief for number one goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

The netminder was drafted first overall in 2000 by the Islanders. He was an all-star in 2006, but injuries have derailed his career.