Mark Streit Basically Out for Season with Serious Shoulder Injury

According to multiple sources, Islanders defenseman Mark Streit is out six months with an injured left shoulder and will likely require surgery. Initial test results indicate a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff, but the 32-year-old defenseman may have also suffered a dislocation.

Streit, who suffered the injury during the third period of Saturday's Orange vs. Blue scrimmage, will seek out a second opinion this week. He is expected to visit shoulder specialist Anthony Miniaci at the Cleveland Clinic, the same doctor that repaired Doug Weight's shoulder back in March.

"He's a top guy for us," Islanders head coach Scott Gordon said after the scrimmage. "Any team that loses one of their top defensemen is going to have a hole in their lineup."

Streit hurt his shoulder during the third period of the team's intra-squad scrimmage at Nassau Coliseum Saturday. Streit was hit by Matt Moulson and fell into the boards awkwardly in what both Moulson and coach Scott Gordon called a "fluke play." Streit left the arena with his left arm in a sling.

"There's a lot more contact in practice than what happened on that play. That was more of a fluke," Gordon said after the scrimmage. "I think [Streit] couldn't get out of his own way more than anything else. He just got himself jammed up against the boards."

After the play, Streit was doubled over in pain and skated off the ice clutching his left shoulder.

According to one source, Streit's shoulder was out of socket for 20 minutes and he was in severe pain; he had to be given tranquilizers so medical staff could pop it back into place.

Moulson, who received a cross-checking penalty on the play, felt terrible about what happened.

"I know it was a fluke, but I still felt bad," Moulson told Newsday for Sunday's print edition. "Never like to see someone go down."

The Islanders, who have declared Streit as "out indefinitely" until he sees a specialist, are bringing in one defenseman on a training camp tryout--former Ranger Anders Eriksson. In addition to Eriksson, the Islanders will also bring in  forwards Dean McAmmond and  Krys Kolanos and goaltenders Many Legace and Joel Martin.

The native of Switzerland, who played all 82 games for the Islanders last season and averaged over 25 minutes of icetime per game.

With Streit out for most, if not all of the season, the Islanders still have seven defensemen on their roster on one-way contracts. They could also provide an opportunity to 2009 12th overall draft pick Calvin de Haan, a left-shot defenseman with poise who could fill the void on the first-unit power play with James Wisniewski.

The Islanders can play de Haan for nine games in the NHL before returning him to his junior club, the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, without losing a season off his three-year entry level contract.

The team has reliable depth defensemen, such as Dylan Reese and Dustin Kohn, who were likely ticketed to start the season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. The Islanders may also look at any available defensemen on the waiver wire or free-agent and trade market.

The way I see it, the Islanders will, without a doubt, have a difficult time replacing the point production that Streit gave them the last two seasons, but they have three options: 1) let 20 year-old Travis Hamonic play on the defensive corps and see what he has. Option two would be to bring back their 1995 first round pick, second overall, defenseman Wade Redden, who was just placed on waivers by the Rangers. The third option would be to try and trade for a defenseman with the hardest shot in the NHL, Sheldon Souray.

Souray, who has been on the trade block for some time now, would fill the need on the powerplay the Islanders now have with Streit out for so long. Let's see what Garth Snow has up his sleeve.