After spending the opening days of the 2007 NHL UFA market watching players leave, the NY Islanders brought one in on Wednesday, signing former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year, $2.9 million contract.
That salary may seem a big steep for essentially a third line player but Isles GM Garth Snow is likely desperate to rebuild his roster and has the cap space to spend.
The Lightning had envisioned Fedotenko as a possible second line winger when they acquired him from the Philadelphia Flyers in 2002, but despite a 26-goal performance in 2005-06 he still appears more comfortable in the role of a checking line forward.
As long as the Isles keep him in that role he should be a good acquisition for them, but they could face the same disappointment as the Bolts if they expect more from him.
This is a total desperation move. On most teams he'd be a third liner, but he may be one of the best forwards on the islanders team. Its unfortunate this happened to the back up....I mean to the GM of the islanders team. I think we'll see a few more desperation moves by them soon, ie Peca, Lindross, Allison. (not that those guys are bad or anything, just that they would be the stars on the islanders and potential third liners on most other teams)
I don't see this the same way. What did people say about the Islander roster last fall? Not good enough for the play offs, because they seemed to be lacking high end talent.
My view is that the whole thing is for the team to have a system which players fit in to. It's all about finding the players who will function with the system. I guess the pro scouts at NYI have seen something in Tank they feel Tortorella hasn't been able to get out of him.
Secondly it's about ice time. It's really all about ice time. Who would've thought Blake could be a 40 goal scorer? It's all about him getting ice time in every situation - EV, PP, PK. Once Tank can get out of the shadows of the big stars, he can score goals.
Plus he's speedy. As is Bergenheim, Tambellini and other young guys at NYI. I think we could see a change in style of play next season. Young and speedy, and with a big NYI-heart. I'm optimistic.
I admire the Islander management for not building their squad on July 1st. That's not how to build a contending team, and we all know it.
That's way too much money for Fedotenko. He's a good enough player, but no way is he worth that. I don't see how it could be anything but "please play here" at this point with that figure. It's too bad that it's in the rules you can't play for the team that just bought you out, because at this rate, Snow should seriously think about signing Yashin to a new deal. You know, while you're just tossing money at anyone with a pulse that's willing to play on the Island. Or maybe a 15-year deal for one of those good youngsters? That always shakes things up.
Newsday is saying the Isles are trying to get Mike Comrie, and also to trade for JovoCop, but he's hesistant to drop his no-trade clause because he's building a house in Phoenix.
yikes, when your top line is Comrie-Fedetenko-Satan, it sure seems like your headed for the top pick in the 2008 draft
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
