On the Islanders Beat

The exodus of goal scorers Jason Blake, Ryan Smyth, Viktor Kozlov and Alexei Yashin this summer was a stunning event that quite naturally inspired a tidal wave of anxiety about the Islanders’ ability to score enough to remain competitive for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. But if the Isles are going to rely even more heavily on the goaltending of Rick DiPietro, then, the most damaging free-agent losses might turn out to be those of defensemen Tom Poti and Sean Hill.

That’s why the signing of free agent defenseman Andy Sutton is every bit as huge as his 6-6, 245-pound frame would suggest. When the free-agent market opened on July 1, all eyes were focused on the Isles’ bid to retain Smyth, who wound up with Colorado. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that Snow also made a strong pitch to former San Jose defenseman Scott Hannan, who also was signed by the Avalanche.

Once Hannan was gone, there was a big dropoff in the market for experienced defensemen with some toughness, which is why Snow explored the possibility of trading for Phoenix’s Ed Jovanovski and Toronto’s Bryan McCabe, both of whom had no-trade clauses. Although Sheldon Souray’s 100-mile-per hour slap shot held a certain amount of appeal, Snow couldn’t bring himself to pay top dollar for such a slow-footed defenseman with a minus-28 rating last season with Montreal.

That left Sutton and Detroit free agent Danny Markov as the best available veterans. Both have spent considerable time on the injured list, and both were seeking big raises in what they knew was a limited market. Although Markov is a better skater and more versatile player, you can’t teach Sutton’s size or manufacture his ability to stop so many shots from getting through.

Looking back on last season, the late signing of Hill after Snow became GM turned out to be a godsend for DiPietro. Hill was slow, but his toughness and his smarts in front of DiPietro were a nice complement to Brendan Witt in providing backbone on the blue line and Hill was important in the locker room, as well. I don’t know what kind of personality Sutton brings to the table, but there’s no mistaking his impact on the defensive end. When he played a career-high 76 games two seasons ago, Sutton ranked fourth in the NHL with 195 blocked shots, which suggests he has the kind of selfless attitude that should fit in well on a Ted Nolan-coached team.

At 32, Sutton is five years younger than Hill, which is why Snow was comfortable making a three-year commitment worth $9 million to a player who ought to be a pillar on defense. With his size and wingspan, Sutton should make a difference in preventing opposing offenses from sustaining pressure on DiPietro. More than anything else, the Islanders needed to add a physical presence on defense, and now, they have.

With Sutton on board, Snow should move fairly quickly in the next week toward adding a center with some offensive ability. Last year, Snow took a chance on a one-year deal at a bargain price for Kozlov, and Carolina free agent Joself Vasicek, who only has shown flashes of his offensive potential, might fit that same mold. Veteran Jason Allison also has been checked out by Snow and his staff, but he has played only one of the past four seasons thanks to injuries, the lockout and a messy divorce that sidelined him last year.

Snow has gone a long way toward replacing the offense that was lost with the addition of proven goal scorer Bill Guerin plus forwards Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko and Jonathan Sim, all of whom have the potential to produce more points with added playing time. If he were to add Vasicek to that mix along with young forwards Jeff Tambellini and Sean Bergenheim and get a strong performance from Miroslav Satan as he approaches free agency, then, scoring might come from a variety of sources, as it did last season when the Islanders had six players with at least 20 goals.

Of course, things would look brighter for the Islanders if Snow had succeeded in landing Smyth or Chris Drury or Scott Gomez on the first day of free agency. It didn’t happen, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

As previously reported the Islanders offered Smyth more money than he received from Colorado, and it turned out Drury and Gomez had their sights set on joining the Rangers all along. Drury actually received two offers from the Isles. One virtually was the same as the five-year deal worth $35.5 million that he signed, and the other included a sixth year that would have pumped the value of the contract to $39 million. But Drury showed no interest in negotiating beyond what the Rangers offered.

Considering the offense added by the Rangers along with Philadelphia’s acquisitions of Daniel Briere and Scott Hartnell and the continued growth of Sidney Crosby and a young Pittsburgh team, that’s why it was vital for the Islanders to get a stopper like Sutton to fortify their defense and give DiPietro the measure of protection every goaltender needs.

Luckily, Snow signed Sutton in the nick of time before this blogger steps completely away from the computer for a family vacation. Have fun discussing the merits of Snow’s latest move, and please maintain respect for everyone on the blog and a level of decency in your comments and try to ignore those who can’t find it within themselves to live up to that standard. Enjoy what’s left of the summer. Training camp is barely four weeks away.

After a long summer shopping for defensive help, it appears Islanders general manager Garth Snow has just about zeroed in on his man. Turns out he was kind of hard to miss.

Snow was working late this evening in an effort to put the finishing touches on a multi-year contract for 6-6, 245-pound defenseman Andy Sutton. The Isles GM explored a variety of options for veteran help on the blue line, but in the end, he went for a stay-at-home, physical defender who can help keep the crease clear in front of goaltender Rick DiPietro.

Terms of the deal were not immediately available as negotiations worked toward a conclusion. The eight-year veteran defender spent the past four-plus seasons in Atlanta, where he totaled two goals and 14 assists in 55 regular-season games and finished with a plus-six rating last season. Sutton has been plagued with injuries throughout much of his career, but in 2005-06, he recorded career-high totals of 76 games played, eight goals, 17 assists and 25 points for the Thrashers.

Most likely, Sutton will be called upon to fill the minutes logged by Sean Hill last season. Following his suspension for the use of performance-enhancing drugs before the final game of a first-round playoff loss to Buffalo, the Islanders allowed Hill to leave as a free agent. If the 32-year-old Sutton uses his size to good advantage, he should be an effective replacement.

Arbitration was a relatively painless process for the Islanders and Trent Hunter, who was awarded a one-year deal for $1.55 million, which general manager Garth Snow quickly accepted today. The absence of acrimony left the door open to future negotiations for a multi-year deal for Hunter, who has been described by Snow as “the quintessential Islander.”

“It’s a fair number for Trent,” Snow said of the arbitrator’s ruling, which fell short of Hunter’s request for $1.9 million. “We made a point not to attack Trent personally or professionally. We have a lot of respect for him. It wasn’t an ugly process.”

The Isles offered a variety of multi-year deals to Hunter prior to his arbitration hearing. “Garth and I tried to get a deal done,” said Brad Devine, Hunter’s agent. “It was one of those things where we couldn’t quite get there. But it was fine for both sides.”

Although Hunter will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, the amicable nature of his recent negotiations with the Islanders suggests the framework is in place to sign Hunter, who had 20 goals and totaled 35 points last season, to a long-term deal during the 2007-08 season. By January or February, both sides ought to have a pretty good idea of Hunter’s value and where he should fit within the Islanders’ payroll.

Now that Hunter’s situation is settled, Snow has two other major questions to resolve before the Islanders report for training camp the second week of September. The GM needs to add one more veteran defenseman and a center with some offensive punch. Movement in the free-agent market has slowed to a crawl, but there are a variety of strategies and player options available to Snow to fill those holes in the roster.

It would be easiest for Snow to go the free-agent route on defense by choosing among the likes of Danny Markov, Andy Sutton or Ossi Vaananen. But he’s determined not to overpay in money or length of contract for a player who might be solid but not necessarily a fit worth a major commitment.

More complicated would be the trade route, but that also might be the best way for Snow to get a player with long-term value and possibly fill other needs in the process. As the NHL world knows, Toronto is anxious to dump defenseman Bryan McCabe and the remaining four years of his contract worth $21.6 million. McCabe has a no-trade clause, but the ex-Islander likely wouldn’t have a problem waiving it to return to a team that wants his talents.

Because the Isles would be doing Toronto a favor by taking on a major salary, the Leafs would have to add ingredients to make it worthwhile. Snow wants to continue to replenish the farm system, and an extra No. 1 pick would help. Leafs center Matt Stajan, 23, reportedly is available and could be a pot sweetener in any deal, depending on which Islanders are sent to Toronto.

No matter which way he goes, it’s unlikely Snow will bring in more than one veteran defenseman. He and coach Ted Nolan understand the need to let young defensemen Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais continue their development, and Snow already added veteran Aaron Johnson for depth at Bridgeport.

Adding firepower to a team that parted with Alexei Yashin and lost scorers Jason Blake, Ryan Smyth and Viktor Kozlov to free agency remains problematic. The Los Angeles Kings aren’t going to walk away from restricted free agent Mike Cammalleri, who averaged 30 goals the past two seasons, no matter what amount he is awarded in arbitration. But there still are passable options among the leftover UFAs.

However, former Islander Michael Peca isn’t likely to return because injuries have diminished his ability to pile up points. The most intriguing option might be 32-year-old Jason Allison, who sat out last season while sorting out problems associated with his divorce. Rust could be an issue for a center who has played only one of the past four seasons thanks to injuries, personal problems and the lockout, but Allison had 60 points for the Maple Leafs in 2005-06 and might provide the playmaking boost the Islanders need.

Carolina center Josef Vasicek, who showed a glimpse of his potential with 45 points in 2003-04, is a secondary option among the remaining free agents. It’s not out of the question the Islanders might even bring back Randy Robitaille, who totaled 40 points last season with the Isles and Flyers. Robitaille signed with Yaroslavl in Russia, but since no transfer agreement is in place between the Russian league and the NHL, he remains an NHL free agent.

How Snow goes about filling out the roster over the next month should provide Islanders fans with ample fodder for debate to tide them over to training camp. But considering what the Islanders lost through free agency, Snow has made a strong comeback since then. No doubt, the Rangers, Philadelphia and Colorado picked the plums of the free-agent crop. Edmonton then drastically overpaid for Sheldon Souray and restricted free agent Dustin Penner.

But the Islanders are in the next group of teams, including the Los Angeles Kings and possibly Washington and St. Louis, that fared as well or better than the rest of the league. And when Snow finishes, it’s likely the Islanders still will be several million below the salary cap with as much payroll flexibility as any team in the NHL heading toward the next couple of seasons. It’s not a bad position to be in.