Brock Nelson is congratulated by teammates including Calvin de Haan for his goal.
Getty Images/Frank Franklin II

The Islanders and Brock Nelson remain ‘far apart’ according to TSN insider Bob McKenzie. In his second year, the 23-year old forward set career bests in goals (20), assists (22) and points (42) while playing all 82 games. In their first round series loss to the Caps, he tallied twice in six contests.

It’s interesting to note that the Islanders are giving Nelson until Thursday when camp opens to re-sign. McKenzie tweeted that if he’s not signed in two days, he won’t play this season. Under the CBA, the deadline to re-sign a restricted free agent is Dec. 1. However, team owner Charles Wang has imposed a rule that requires Nelson to be signed at the start of camp.

Earlier, McKenzie tweeted that the club made Nelson a bridge offer. His cap hit was $2.825 million in ’14-15 with a salary of $900,000. Considering that he’s only played two seasons, it doesn’t make sense for him to hold out. He’s getting bad advice from his agent.

The Isles boast plenty of depth up front. They are dealing from a position of strength. If Nelson doesn’t re-sign, does GM Garth Snow shop him? We’ll have to wait and see.