The first Islanders chip has fallen. More on this to follow!

Per an Islanders release:

The New York Islanders have traded defenseman Andy Sutton to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a second round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

The pick was originally acquired by Ottawa along with Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo from San Jose in exchange for forward Dany Heatley and Ottawa’s fifth-round draft choice in 2010 on Sept. 12, 2009.

Sutton was signed by the Islanders on August 10, 2007 as a free agent and has played on Long Island over the past three seasons. Over the course, Sutton has played in 135 games for the Islanders, scoring seven goals and 23 assists. This year, Sutton totaled four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 54 games with the Islanders.

The Islanders have recalled defenseman Dustin Kohn from the team’s American Hockey league affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

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It’s not everyday that a serviceable 6′1″ 218 LB 31-year old defenseman is waived by his team, it’s even rarer of an occasion where your struggling and injured team can benefit by picking him up and NOT MOVE A PLAYER IN RETURN.

Such is the case that Islanders GM Garth Snow will find himself in should he opt to claim Nick Boynton off of waivers before 12 o’clock tomorrow afternoon.

Why should Snow put in a claim?

Let’s see, the team has now lost five straight and is still on the playoff bubble stalled at 54 points. The Islanders defensive corps is battered and bruised, having to resort to calling up two stop gaps in Dustin Kohn and Andrew MacDonald (MacDonald is playing over 21 minutes a game and has been impressive, but I digress). Jack Hillen was felled to a broken jaw thanks to Alex Ovechkin’s slapshot last week and will be out 6-8 weeks. Veteran tough guy d-man Brendan Witt has a leg injury and will be out for another 2-3 weeks at best. Lastly on the injury front, Radek Martinek (aka Glass Man) was lost to a knee injury earlier this season and will be out indefinitely.

Looking further into the depth of the Islanders d-corps depth chart:

Bruno Gervais, is just not cutting it and seems to finding himself in the red in the plus/minus column more often than not. His recent pairing with Mark Streit has allowed him better play, thankfully.

Freddy Meyer (FMIV) bounces in and out of the lineup and has been decent, but he is not a top four d-man.

You’re current top four – Andy Sutton, Mark Streit, Bruno Gervais and Andrew MacDonald. The Islanders need defensive help and they need it now.

Boynton is set to make $700,000 for the rest of this season and is a pending UFA, so it’s not really a high risk move by any means. Should Boynton clear waivers, he will be sent down to the Ducks AHL affiliate and if summoned back to the NHL will be exposed to re-entry waivers and only costing a team $350,000 at that point.

To me, shaking up your team and giving them depth by adding a waiver wire claim seems like a good move. Pundits can claim that Boynton has played for three teams in two seasons, he has had his struggles in Anaheim and doesn’t fit the Islanders system. However, the failed experiment this weekend in Philly with Trevor Gillies should point out the need for toughness in the lineup – which Boynton can bring. Looking over his fight card this season (3 fights in his limited playing time) he has fought some tough opponents.

I say give him a shot Garth, but that’s just my opinion – if he doesn’t work out, no harm no foul and you have given up NOTHING.

What do you all think? Discuss in the comments section.

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All that talk of help for DiPietro turned out to be true. The Islanders signed goaltender Dwayne Roloson to a two year $5million dollar contract to open up their free agency spending.

This move addresses a need, but is two years for a 40 year old goalie the smartest?

Per Greg Logan’s blog.

The Islanders have reached agreement with Edmonton’s Dwayne Roloson on a two-year deal believed to be worth $5 million. Signing a veteran starting goaltender solves their top priority, which was to have a 1A-caliber backup for starter Rick DiPietro in the event his injury problems continue.

Roloson turns 40 on Oct. 12, but he was the Oilers’ MVP last season with a 28-24-9 record, 2.77 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. He also recorded a spectacular .930 save percentage for Canada at the World Championships, a gold-medal effort.

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I tried to get this out a bit sooner, but by now it’s all over the web.

The Islanders have assigned forward Kyle Okposo and defenseman Jack Hillen to their AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Hillen was on the clear day roster set a few weeks back, and according to Tom Liodice from The Tiger Track, Okposo was he was “in residence” and fit into the roster due to numerous injuries. In any case, Bridgeport’s playoff roster just got that much deeper.

I will touch on this more a little later when I get home from work. Here is the official release:

The New York Islanders have announced today that right wing Kyle Okposo and defenseman Jack Hillen have been reassigned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. Both players are scheduled to be in the line-up for the Sound Tigers this weekend when they open up their East Division semifinal series at the Nassau Coliseum versus the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. Game One is this Friday night, April 17th at 7:30 PM with Game Two scheduled for Saturday, April 18th at 7:00 PM. Tickets are currently on sale for both games at www.NewYorkIslanders.com.

Okposo played in 65 games for the Islanders this season and scored 18 goals with 21 assists for 39 points. He led all Islanders rookies and finished second on the team overall in scoring and led the team in goals scored. Okposo suited up in 35 games for the Sound Tigers in the 2007-08 season when he made his professional hockey debut and scored nine goals with 19 assists for 28 points. He was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Hillen played in 40 games for the Islanders this season scoring one goal with five assists for six points. He also played in 33 games for Bridgeport and scored three goals with 13 assists for 16 points. Hillen led all Sound Tigers defensemen in points per game with an average of 0.52. He was signed by the Islanders has an undrafted free agent on April 1, 2008.

In addition to logging onto www.NewYorkIslanders.com, tickets can also be purchased at the Islanders Team Stores at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville and the Westfield Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, the Nassau Coliseum Box Office, or by calling 1.800.882.ISLES, ext. 1. Ticket prices will range accordingly: $29 for lower VIP center seats, $19 for lower VIP corner and lower VIP end zone seats and $15 for upper bowl 300 level seats.

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Got some breaking news!

The Islanders have just announced that they have signed veteran forward Doug Weight to a one year contract extension.

Per the Islanders official press release:

The Islanders have signed center Doug Weight to a one-year contract extension.

In his first season with the Islanders, Weight is third on the team in scoring with nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points despite missing 29 games due to injury.

Weight originally signed with the Islanders as an unrestricted free agent on July 2, 2008. The contract runs through the 2009-10 season. “Long Island has been a wonderful place for me and my family,” Weight said. “It was an easy decision to come back for another season. The Islanders have been a first-class organization and I’m looking forward to helping our team continue its development into a contender.”

Weight is a four-time NHL All-Star and won a Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2005-06 and was an Olympic Silver Medalist with the United States in 2002. Weight has played in 1,180 games and has scored 274 goals and 730 assists for 1,004 points in 17 NHL seasons. He recorded his 1,000th NHL point on January 2nd, 2009 at Phoenix and became the eighth American-born player and 73rd NHL player to reach that plateau. Weight is also one of 45 all-time NHL players, and one of four American-born hockey players, to have recorded at least 200 goals and 700 assists in their careers In addition to the 2002 team, Weight also played on the 1998 United States Olympic Team and 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.

I know I have been a big Doug Weight fan this season from the moment I interviewed him at his introduction over the summer. Weight came to the Islanders looking to prove he could still be a force in this young mans game. He proved he can and then some.

Weight has been an important mentor and leader for this young Islanders club, I am estatic he was signed prior to the end of the season. This was a very good move by Garth Snow!

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Out with the old – in with the, well – Sound Tigers?

Having traded veteran Bill Guerin yesterday during the trade deadline, coupled with the fact that Brendan Witt is still serving his suspension, Nate Thompson not ready, Trent Hunter not ready and Thomas Pock also not ready – the Islanders have recalled four players from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Forward Jesse Joensuu who scored in his first NHL game on Monday gets another go, while forward Joel Rechlicz gets his first call up of the season. Defensemen Joe Callahan who has been impressive while up with the big club and Andrew MacDonald another impressive young d-man also get the call. So while the Islanders did not make too many trades yesterday – it sure might feel that way with so many new faces in the locker room tonight.

Here is the official press release:

The New York Islanders have recalled forwards Jesse Joensuu and Joel Rechlicz and defensemen Joe Callahan and Andrew MacDonald from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.

Joensuu (YOH-ehn-soo) made his NHL debut on Monday night against Colorado and scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot. In 56 games with Bridgeport this season, he has recorded 17 goals and 14 assists to rank fifth on the team with 31 points. Joensuu was drafted by the Islanders in the second round (60th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Rechlicz (REHK-lihj) has split time between Bridgeport (AHL) and Utah (ECHL) this season. He has seven penalty minutes in three games with Bridgeport and one assist to go along with 110 penalty minutes in 45 games with Utah. Rechlicz was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on May 6, 2008.

Callahan has one assist and a +2 rating in 13 games with the Islanders this season. In 42 games with Bridgeport, he has scored three goals and added six assists for nine points. Callahan was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on July 8, 2008.

MacDonald made his NHL debut on February 28th against Buffalo and has a +2 rating in two games. In 52 games with Bridgeport this season, he has six goals and 13 assists to lead all Sound Tigers’ defensemen with 19 points. He also represented the Sound Tigers in the AHL All-Star game as a member of Team Canada this season. MacDonald was drafted by the Islanders in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

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