UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders are sending veteran defenseman Andrew MacDonald to the Metropolitan Division rival Philadelphia Flyers for a pair of draft picks and minor league center Matt Mangene.
The deal was announced Tuesday, one day before the NHL trade deadline and several hours before the Islanders played the Jets in Winnipeg.
MacDonald will bolster the Flyers' defense as they push for a playoff spot. Philadelphia, which also has former Islanders defenseman Mark Streit on the back end, is currently in second place in the Metropolitan, one point ahead of the New York Rangers and two points above the postseason cutoff.
New York is last in the division a season after making the playoffs. The Islanders acquired a third-round pick in this year's draft and a 2015 second-round choice in the deal.
MacDonald, a pending unrestricted free agent, was considered one of the most enticing targets on the market, particularly because of his modest cap-hit. The 27-year-old blueliner is on the last year of a four-year deal with an annual average value of $550,000.
Though MacDonald hasn't had a great season, he has logged top-pair minutes for the sputtering Islanders, often drawing opponents' top lines as assignments each night.
Mangene, a Long Island native, has three goals and three assists in 51 games for the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms.
Information from ESPNNewYork.com's Katie Strang and the Associated Press was used in this report.