Lost in the trade deadline hoopla was the NY Islanders retaining an important free agent, re-signing Mike Comrie to a one-year, $4 million contract.

Comrie is the Islanders leading scorer this season and clearly enjoys playing for the club. Indeed, it appears that, after struggling to fit in with Edmonton, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Ottawa, Comrie may have finally found a home with the Islanders.

For a team that usually loses their best players to unrestricted free agency every year, for a franchise that is oft-maligned as the Islanders have been since the early 1990s, it was important to retain their top scorer when he obviously wanted to stay.

The salary might appear a bit steep but the term works for the Islanders, for if Comrie should regress next season they’ll only be on the hook for a year. If he improves, they can commit to a more lucrative, longer term.

Islanders general manager Garth Snow still has to consider re-signing Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Josef Vasicek and Bryan Berard. Satan might not return but it’s possible Fedotenko, Vasickek and Berard could be affordable retained if they wish to stay and if they still fit in the Isles future plans.

At least this year, Snow won’t have to worry about losing his best forward to the UFA market, which could be the basis for retaining other key players this summer.