It figures that the one day I am not glued to my PDA because of work, I miss a trade involving the Islanders. I guess we can’t ALWAYS catch everything as it happens, right? Here is what went down;
To Boston: Petteri Nokelainen
To NY Islanders: Ben Walter and a conditional 2nd round pick in 2009
This has the potential to be a great trade for the Islanders, as Nokelainen suffered a major knee injury a few seasons ago and has yet to fully recover. He still has game left at the ripe old age of 21 years old, and should be able to provide Boston with offense if he remains healthy.
Walter, 23 – is described as a two way forward that can score big goals, so his addition should have an immediate impact in Bridgeport. I say Bridgeport because given the amount of players attending camp – I really do not see him making the Islanders out of camp.
I am definitely supportive of this player swap because Snow and Nolan are definitely building their type of team and casting away pieces left over from the Milbury years. I have heard from several sites now, that it is a shame that they are trading away all these former first rounder’s, but if you look at what they have accomplished thus far in their career compared to the players brought in, we appear slightly better off.
You can read more about both players on the Islanders Website.
We'll see what happens…….I don't think you can say the players we got are better even in this case with Walter. I think time will tell whether or not this trade pans out.
Chris,
I can see where its tough to know what benefit we will havw with Walter over Nokie, but there has to be some reason good enough for the Islanders to pursue him. Even if he is part of a bigger trade.
Could be Mike…..we'll see. I guess they have reservations about Nokie's knee problems holding up and him being the same aggressive checker he was. I know in the dozen or so games I watched him a couple of years ago, I very much liked what I saw. Maybe their opinion on him changed.
I agree, the knee was obviously the biggest concern. Time will tell on the trade, but I have a feeling we will see more tweaks following camp.
They may luck out with this trade because Boston will, from what I gather, a weak team next season. That 2nd round pick could be a #35-40 pick in next years draft, a draft that is supposedly very very deep.