Eagle eyes caught a fast one - the Islanders have extended defenseman Brendan Witt to a two-year contract extension. Terms were not announced just yet, but I am working on it.

Per TSN’s signings tracker:

6:37PM New York Islanders sign defenceman Brendan Witt to a contract extension.

This is GREAT news for the Islanders as Witt was in the final year of his contract and there was speculation as to what would eventually happen. Witt has been rock solid on the back line being a leader, bringing strength, antagonistic and occasionally rough play for the Islanders. This was a great signing!

Update: I am hearing it is for a two-year extension. More to follow.

Greg Logan confirms it is a two-year deal worth $6-Million in his blog!

Official Islanders statement:

The New York Islanders have signed alternate captain Brendan Witt to a two-year contract extension worth $6.0 million. That means the fan-favorite defenseman is under contract through the 2010-2011 season.

“Over the last two seasons, Brendan has been a warrior for us on the ice and a great leader off the ice,” said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow. “We’re thrilled to keep him in an Islanders uniform.”

Added Witt: “My family and I are excited to stay on Long Island for the next three years. We love the community and our fans, and I couldn’t be happier. I want to thank the Islanders organization and the fans for making Long Island our home.”

In his two years with the Islanders, Witt has played in 140 games and has scored three goals with 18 assists for 21 points and a +6 plus/minus rating. More importantly, Witt has been a thorn in the side of some of the top NHL forwards as he is often assigned the role of shutting down the opponent’s top lines.

Originally drafted by Washington in first round (11th overall) in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Witt has played a total of 12 seasons in the NHL. In 783 games with Washington, Nashville and the Islanders, Witt has scored a total of 23 goals with 84 assists for 107 points and 1,285 penalty minutes.

Witt was originally signed by the Islanders in July of 2006 to a three-year contract, which was set to expire after the 2008-09 season.

As I mentioned earlier, this was a KEY signing and has really solidified our defensive corps for the foreseeable future. With players like Sutton, Martinek, Streit and now Witt signed for multiple years - there won’t be much changing on the blueline so it means increased chemistry and solidarity - at least with the top two defensive pairings. I think Snow went way above and beyond with this move, another great job!

Keeping up with the rumor theme, Sean Avery - now of the Dallas Stars thanks to his 4-year $15.5-Million dollar deal, has never really been the kindest player to the New York Islanders. He has “allegedly” headhunted DiPietro after a concussion, he has spit water at the Ice Girls, speared Brendan Witt, and mouthed off among other cheap shots during the course of his time with the Rangers. This parting shot, sort of makes me chuckle a little bit though and makes me wonder how much he must have been annoyed that the Islanders never even called him.

In an interview with the National Post, Avery claims the Islanders should have reached out to him with an offer for his “services”. It seems someone is a little bitter about being taken away from The Big Apple and the Fashion District.

Avery touched upon high fashion, Russian bathtubs, break-up speeches and a love for New York’s Lower East Side. He was saying goodbye, but not farewell, to Manhattan after signing a four-year US$15.5-million deal with the Stars. In parting, Avery’s most inflammatory barb was a muted blast at the Rangers’ archrivals in New York.

“If they were smart,” Avery said of the Islanders. “They probably would have tried to sign me.”

The Islanders did not even bid for Avery’s services, and the Rangers backed away from the big money the super-pest was going to bring on the open market, despite the fact the team was 33-14-10 with him in the lineup last season and 9-13-3 without.

“I am sitting in a Russian bathtub in the Lower East Side right now,” Avery said. “I spent about a year and a half in New York, and I think it is always a place I am going to come back to live. It’s home.”

Sean, that’s what happens when you wear out your welcome somewhere - you don’t get re-signed or offered a contract by the other local teams. He also fails to mention that Islander management DESPISES him as a player. Oh well - such is life, at least he gave me something else to write about tonight.

Speculation (read: rumors) has been running rampant the past several days that the Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to purge themselves of Dan Boyle’s six-year $40-million dollar contact in order to reach a self imposed spending limit. The problem with this grand master plan is that Boyle was given a no trade clause in his extension prior to last years trade deadline. There have been numerous teams rumored asking about the services of Boyle, you guessed it - the Islanders are said to be in the mix.

Normally, I would take whatever I read on the various message boards or rumor websites with a grain of salt - but the websites and writers I respect most are all reporting the same things. Greg Logan from Newsday wrote about it in a story for Friday’s paper and in his blog, Spector mentions the Islanders in his Boyle updates, and Kuklas Korner also mentions the Islanders with Boyle. What makes things even more interesting, is that the Islanders are even mentioned in a local Tampa newspaper blog as well. All signs point to this being a confirmed interest in Boyle.

While Boyle may not fit into what the Islanders are trying to accomplish perfectly, he is another offensive defenseman - and a fairly solid defender. Tampa is looking to shed salary, so this is another example of how the Islanders cap-space has become even more valuable. The Lightning are trading from a position of weakness, so the Islanders could snatch Boyle up for a mid-level prospect and a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick. To me, this would be a no brainer because it would solidify the defensive corps and you can then shift your focus on adding a top-six forward to jump start the offense. Boyle doesn’t make the Isles any more of a contender than they would be without him, but he definately makes them a solid team defensively. This is something that needs to be watched closely over the next coming days, that is for sure.

July 4th Update

Apparently San Jose has traded for Dan Boyle and completely overpayed in my eyes: Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich to San Jose for Matt Carle, Ty Wishart, a 1st and a 4th

Chris Botta claims that the Islanders did more than just “kick the tires” in his blog - they very much wanted Boyle - but I bet the first round pick made Snow cringe and terminate any talks of a trade. Good on ya Garth!

Between yesterday and today, the Islanders have stocked the farm system once again by signing a whole handful of players to two-way contracts, including a goaltender who allegedly broke all of Dubielewicz’s records at the University of Denver. In no particular order they have signed Mike Iggulden, Kurtis McLean, Chris Lee, Mitch Fritz, goaltender Peter Mannino, and Brett Skinner.

You can read about the signings at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers website, I don’t claim to be an expert at AHL players - that is Tom Liodice’s gig (but he is on vacation).

The cupboard, is no longer bear.

The Islanders have also posted a nice little article on 6 of the recent signings, you can check it out on the teams website.

Botta claims in his blog deal is done, one year deal.

More in a bit

Confirmed! Check out the Islanders Website!

Once again I ran out to take care of something and signings break! We all knew this was coming, it was rumored to happen back at the trade deadline when talk of a Guerin/Weight reunion was spoken about. Doug Weight is another great veteran presence at the center position who can dish the puck off and position his wingers correctly. His experience and skill is invaluable to the younger players and this is another good signing for Garth.

Greg Logan has the breakdown of the contract on his blog, but it appears to be a one year deal worth $1.74-million with the opportunity to reach $4.3-million in performance bonuses. I am also not the only one speaking the praises of signing Weight, check out Chris Botta’s blog and while your at it fellow Blog Boxer Okposo Net.

Per the Islanders official statement:

The New York Islanders have agreed to a one-year contract with four-time NHL All-Star center Doug Weight. A Stanley Cup champion with Carolina in 2005-06 and Olympic Silver Medalist with the United States in 2002, Weight brings a total of 1,131 NHL games to the Islanders along with 265 career goals and 704 assists for 969 points in 16 NHL seasons.

“Bringing Doug aboard was a priority for us. He not only brings a wealth of NHL games and experience with him, but he’s the type of player we want our younger players to learn from,” said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow.

Last season, Weight split his time between St. Louis and Anaheim and scored a total of ten goals with 15 assists for 25 points in 67 games. The 37-year old is among the NHL’s all-time active leaders in assists and points, ranking eighth with 704 assists and twelfth with 969 points. Weight is also among the all-time United States-born leaders, ranking fifth in assists and eighth in points.

Weight has played on the United States Olympic Team twice, in 1998 and 2002, and also represented the United States in the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 and 2004.

A native of Warren, Michigan, Weight played collegiate hockey for two years with Lake Superior State University from 1989 to 1991. After the 1990-91 season, Weight was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team and the NCAA’s West Second All-American Team.

Ken Morrow on the signing of Doug Weight on Islanders TV:

In a confusing bit of news, it appears the Islanders have signed former Canadiens goaltender Yann Denis. No official word, but a sharp eyed poster on Islandermania spotted him on the players page.

Nothing more than a depth signing I am sure, but some theorize he will make things harder on Joey MacDonald now. We shall see.

More as it develops.

Confirmed!

Per the New York Islanders website:

The New York Islanders have signed goaltender Yann Danis to a one-year, two-way contract. A former NCAA All-American with Brown University, Danis has a record of 81-67-18 in 176 career AHL games with a 2.78 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

Following a standout four-year career at Brown University, Danis signed as an undrafted free agent with Montreal in March of 2004. In his time with the Canadiens’ organization, Danis played in six games with Montreal and had a record of 3-2-0 with a 2.69 goals against average and a save percentage of .908. Danis, a native of Québec, Canada spent the majority of the last five seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.

During his time at Brown, Danis played in 100 games and finished with a record of 43- 43-12. He also had 13 shutouts to go along with a goals against average of 2.19 and a save percentage of .930. Danis won several colligate honors, including being named as an NCAA All-American in 2003-04 and received All-Conference honors in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Thanks to CMB for the heads-up!