[fieldset=TRADE: CANUCKS - ISLANDERS]
D - Mark Streit
G - Evgeni Nabokov
D - Keith Ballard
G - Cory Schneider
D - Yann Sauve
RW - Niklas Jensen
RW - Byron Bitz
[/fieldset]
ISLES DEAL THEIR CAPTAIN TO VANCOUVER
PRESS RELEASE - The New York Islanders have dealt their captain Mark Streit to the Vancouver Canucks. The New York Islanders would like to thank Mark Streit and Evgeni Nabokov for their time on the island. Streit was a great leader and his presence will be missed.
At this time, no succeeding Captain will be named and the Islanders will continue with 3 Alternate Captains in Tavares, Okposo, and Rolston.
- - -
Streit is an older player who had 1 year left on his contract after this season. Vancouver approached us with a deal that netted us a good return.
Schneider provides us stability in net and a #1 goaltender for the foreseeable future. I plan on building from the net out and Schneider is a very large part of that.
For whatever reason, Keith Ballard did not succeed in Vancouver. He desperately needed a change of scenery to regain the form of a Top-4 defenseman that we saw in Florida and Phoenix. We fully expect Ballard to flourish outside of Vancouver and on the Island.
Niklas Jensen is a player we like. A big strong puck protecting winger who skates well and is a 3-zone player. He's off to a great start in the OHL with the Generals posting 13-14-27 in 24 games. Perhaps the thing we love best about Jensen... he's a RW that shoots left. I love wingers who play their "off wing".
Suave and Bitz will provide depth to the organization and see duty in the NHL if more bodies are moved out. Otherwise, they are good options for AHL duty.
The Island continues to sink and we're looking to jettison a whole bunch of bodies. We're looking for a Top Pairing defenseman, 1st and 2nd round picks in the upcoming draft, and prospects where neither of those apply.