The Islanders didn't jump into the fray with some of the other players in what is a fairly weak free agent class, but were able to address one of their needs.
The Islanders signed center Marty Reasoner to a 2 year, $2.7 million contract. Reasoner is a fine 4th line center and will replace the departed Zenon Konopka, who is still searching for a new team.
Reasoner put up 14 goals and 18 assists in a slightly more expanded role than your run-of-the-mill 4th line center last season for the Florida Panthers. He was also in the top-10 in the league in faceoffs.
One of the key things with Reasoner is that he's been around the league for quite some time, and has always been regarded as a leader on and off the ice. He'll fill in the leadership role very well.
Often the Islanders put Konopka on the ice in crucial situations, especially if they needed a faceoff win on the PK. The problem there was that when he didn't win the faceoff, there wasn't enough time for him to get off the ice and a 5-on-4 seemed to become a 5-on-3. Reasoner is the better all around player and can play defense, especially on the PK where he averaged 2:45 of ice time.
It's a nice start as far as upgrading one minor area, but certainly wasn't the top priority. Garth Snow really seems to want to add a top four defenseman, and while he admitted a lot of what's left on the UFA market isn't exciting he still has some lines in those waters. However, a trade is a more likely scenario here to fill that role.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
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