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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About to call into the conference call to hear everything that has or has not transpired today.

I am going to record the call with my fancy device that allows me to do so with my digital recorder. I will either transcribe it or post the clip in it’s entirety.

More in a few!

Update: Well there were technical difficulties in the call. I think I heard Garth Snow say three of four barely audible words. Guess I have to wait for the press release – nothing went the Islanders way today, clearly.

Update #2 Per the Islanders official press release:

The New York Islanders have traded Bill Guerin to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional 2009 fifth round draft selection. The team has also activated defenseman Thomas Pock and center Nate Thompson from the Injured Reserve while reassigning winger Jon Sim to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.

The conditions of the Guerin/Pittsburgh trade are as follows: If Pittsburgh reaches the playoffs, the draft pick is upgraded to a fourth round selection. If Pittsburgh advances past the first round and Guerin plays in 50 percent of those first round games, the draft pick gets further upgraded to a third round selection. The fifth round selection originally belonged to Tampa Bay.

“The entire Islanders organization has the utmost respect for Bill Guerin and we sincerely thank him for his time on Long Island and as the team’s captain,” said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow.

Guerin recorded 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 61 games with the Islanders this season. Since signing with the team as a free agent on July 5, 2007, he played in 142 games and recorded 39 goals and 41 assists for 80 points. Guerin was the 11th captain in franchise history.

Pock has played in 41 games this season and has scored one goal with two assists for three points. He missed the Islanders’ last 13 games with a hand injury. Pock was claimed off waivers from the New York Rangers on September 29, 2008. In 100 career NHL games, Pock has scored eight goals with nine assists for 17 points and 51 penalty minutes.

Thompson has played in 28 games this season and has scored two goals. He missed the Islanders’ last 12 games with a shoulder injury. Thompson was claimed off waivers from Boston on October 8, 2008. In 32 career NHL games, Thompson has scored two goals and registered 42 penalty minutes.

Sim, who cleared waivers earlier today, has played in 49 games with the Islanders this season and scored nine goals and six assists for 15 points. In 51 career games with the Islanders he has scored nine goals with seven assists for 16 points and 44 penalty minutes. Sim was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on July 1, 2007.

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All the build up and speculation and it’s hard to say that I am impressed with the deal Garth Snow has swung with Pittsburgh for Bill Guerin.

The details:

Islanders trade Bill Guerin for a conditional 5th round pick that can go as high as a third rounder.

If Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, it turns into a 4th rounder.
If Pittsburgh wins a round, it turns into a 3rd rounder.

Not really anything major, but I would have thought the return would have been at least a second rounder.

Bill Guerin was just on TSN when asked how it felt to be in limbo:

It was a pretty painful process. We thought we had a deal done with another team a couple of days ago.

Greg Logan has the whole exchange on his blog:

Asked about the wait to learn his fate since being scratched on Saturday night, Guerin said, “It was a pretty painful process. We thought we had a deal done with another team a couple days ago. Then, it just kind of made things a little awkward, so, I sat here in limbo for four days or so just kind of waiting for something to happen. I’ve been through trade deadlines before, and a lot of things wait until the last second to get things done.

“I’m excited about going to Pittsburgh. It’s a great opportunity for me to go to a talented team like that with their experience in the Finals last year. They’re in a dogfight right now for the playoffs, but they’re playing great and I’m really looking forward to it.”

On whether he expects to help the Pens with leadership: “I just go in and be myself. I’ve always been a vocal guy, not afraid to say anything. You just play it by ear. They get you for a specific reason. The best thing you can do is be yourself and support the leadership they have there.”

See ya on the flip side Billy.

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For the third season in a row, I have made my own holiday (and taken the day off from work) to celebrate one of the craziest days for the NHL – trade deadline day. Next to July 1st, which is the beginning of unrestricted free agency, we see plenty of player movement as teams dump players for picks and/or prospects or just players for players as other teams bulk up or re-tool heading into playoff season. It is truly an exciting day.

Last year, my first with Islesblogger and as a member of the Islanders Blog Box – I spent the entire day at Nassau Coliseum live blogging the events of the day. We were interviewed by Jim Baumbach of Newsday – whom live blogged our live blogging and even had a run in with several Pittsburgh players asking if we knew if any of them had been traded. However, because this year the Islanders do not have a game, it is impossible to be allowed access to the Blog Box for something similar. Obviously this is dissapointing – but I pledge to carry on from the comfort of my own home with access to the same Canadian television, the internet and hopefully better food then what will be available to the media and Islanders Point Blank who will be crammed into Room Six.

What’s even more exciting, is now that I have access to everything on SB Nation – I will be part of their deadline day special through Lighthouse Hockey! I will have a running post of any and all the large trades made by the Islanders and may do something similar for the division rivals. I will also have a few opinion peices in addition to updating everyone here on Islesblogger – it will be a lot of work, but Dom and I promise to bring to some great stuff tomorrow later today.

Stay tuned for the fun stuff! Remember, you can subscribe to my RSS FEED or EMAIL UPDATES as well as follow along on TWITTER if you will be stuck at work without constant access to the internet!

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For the second time this season, veteran winger Jon Sim has found himself exposed to the waiver wire.

Sim, who had three assists last night and three goals in four games before last nights three point outburst, has one year remaining on his contract at an affordable $1 million dollars.

I have two games worth of quotes from Jon Sim that I have yet to post – I guess today is the day. Look for those a bit later tonight.

More as it develops, I’m almost positive someone was interested in acquiring Sim without giving up anything in return.

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This has been an interesting 24 hours, let me tell you.

It started with sitting in my seats in section 309 last night and my seat neighbor Anthony from Brooklyn and I are talking about alternate captains and who else is wearing an “A” other than Hunter with Witt out. We canvass the ice and bench and cannot find anyone. Tony from Islesnation (who sits directly over my left shoulder) says – “Uh, where is Guerin?”. The three of us break out of phones (two iPhones and a Blackberry) and begin to read every website for a hint of information. We find out that Guerin took place in the warmup and was removed after a conversation with Garth Snow. Cue bells and whistles.

Ok, we knew Guerin had agreed to waive his no movement clause for only Eastern Conference contenders – so he was likely on the move someplace. A few phone calls up to my contacts in the press box produced nothing concrete – everyone up there was scrambling as much as we were. Chris Botta, as always seemed to have his finger on the pulse of the situation and began frantically exploring every angle possible, but would not get positive proof of any specific move. Cue drama music.

Based on some of my own guesswork, I had narrowed the teams down to three, possibly even four based on the mileage factor. Earlier in the week I had heard something about a possible deal with Montreal, but heard nothing of specific names involved. Earlier yesterday I had heard that there were two Islanders scouts in attendance at the Washington – Bruins game. Why would TWO scouts be at that game? Perhaps they were each scouting a different team? I added those two teams to my list.

Just about everyone on the net seems to have a different opinion on what is going on, so that is what makes the speculation fun and exciting. However, everything seems to move back to Washington and Montreal and it can only mean one thing – Garth Snow has a bidding war on his hands and is playing this hand of poker absolutely perfect. Has he bluffed his way into having the better player muck his winning hand?

Let’s think this through hypothetically, Bill Guerin is going to be moved – you know it, I know it, Billy knows it – the league knows it. Snow’s phones begin lighting up and he has a few deals that interest him. He talks to team A and they offer X – team B offers Y – Garth tells team A that he has a better offer on the table and in an attempt to fire up both pulls Guerin from the warmup to make it appear a deal is imminent. Perhaps he is playing both teams (or even a third team?) and forcing them to up the ante. This is what makes an excellent GM in my eyes – the ability to squeeze the most out of any deal (look no further than last weeks transaction with Ottawa).

Where we stand today is even more confusing as Greg Logan wrote an article claiming a divide in the locker room. I already posted that I was concerned with three players speaking out against Gordon (Comrie, Campoli and Witt), this would make four if true. Could it be sensationalism to sell the Sunday editions or drive traffic to the Newsday site? Certainly, but what I don’t understand is that two to three weeks ago Guerin was apparently content being an Islander and preferred to remain one for the future. Logan even cites an anonymous player as another veteran whom has questioned Gordon – which could make five players. To quote a great movie line that needs no explanation “What we have here is a failure to communicate”. Something that needs to be taken into consideration is that Scott Gordon is a rookie coach in a really tough situation. His is in the middle of a full on rebuild and playing the kids as much as possible – he works well with the kids because he was in the AHL. Maybe he has been making assumptions about the veterans not needing the same type of attention – which by the article seems to be the case. Who knows, it’s another story line we must keep an eye out for.

Update 1:05pm -Everything just came full circle, Greg Logan updated his blog while I was typing this piece. Seems he is also thinking the way I am in terms of the two teams being Montreal and Washington.

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What a crazy night tonight, first it starts with a little news from Greg Logan about DiPietro seeking a second (or is it a third?) opinion on his swelling surgery repaired knee. The discussion shifted about the now real possibility of shutting DiPietro down the remainder of this season. Shortly after that, news hits the wire (once again, Greg Logan) about ex-Islanders Wade Dubielewicz in possible talks with the Islanders about a return, now having been bought out of his Russian KHL contract. If you are still with me it get’s even better….

Around the five minute mark of the first period against the Rangers tonight, MacDonald somehow injured his groin and could no longer continue. In his place Yann Danis jumps into the game. Now the curious case of who will serve as backup to the backup in case something should happen to Danis. Howie and Billy joked when the camera went to the skybox where both Dunham and Garth were sitting that either would be more than capable. Seems someone in management was listening, because Dunham disappeared and would be named emergency backup – you know, just in case.

It appears as if the Islanders will be giving many fans their wish if DiPietro is indeed shut down. In a pregame interview with Billy Jaffe, Garth Snow admitted concerns over DiPietro and insists that his best interests and safety are in mind with any decision. He also admitted that there may have been errors made in their decisions with DP in years past.

Shut him down and allow him to FULLY recover for next season, this way we don’t have a repeat – or should I say THREE-PEAT?

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