Isles Re-up Moulson for Three More Years

Forget all the trade rumors of Matt Moulson going to the Boston Bruins. Forget the talk that the Islanders can't afford Moulson and that he doesn't want to stay on Long Island.

Why forget it, you may ask? Well, the Islanders have signed Moulson to a three-year contract extension worth $9.4 million that will kick in after this season.

Moulson, 27, has 29 points (17 goals, 12 assists) in 49 games this season in his second season with the Islanders.

Last year, the North York, ON, native led all Islanders in goals (30), while also establishing career highs in assists (18), points (48) and games played (82). Moulson has yet to miss a game through his two seasons with the Islanders, currently leading the team with 131 consecutive games played.

Moulson decided that the loyalty factor was a big deal and remained loyal to the team that gave him his first real shot in the NHL. Moulson is thrilled to remain on Long Island for the next three years, as he continuously stated that it was the place he wanted to be.

“I’m extremely excited to be a part of the team for the next three years,” Moulson said. “I love this organization. I love the guys that are a part of it. I’m just happy I’m not going anywhere.”

Signing the contract was extremely important to Moulson. It means he’ll get the opportunity to continue working with a team where he has built a strong bond.
 
“We’re a tight bunch of guys,” Moulson said. “We’re like a family. It’s tough to leave people like that. I love the fans, love the area. I love Long Island. So this is somewhere that I wanted to be, somewhere my wife wanted to be and we’re just extremely excited to be able to be here for the next three years.”

That closeness between the players is what makes this signing even more special. It's also that closeness that enables the guys to want to go to battle for each other every night. As players and teammates, they depend on each other to keep working hard to move the team in the right direction and to hopefully, in the not-to-distant future, bring the Stanley Cup back to Long Island.

“We want to win for each other,” Moulson said. “We’re like a family inside that locker room. Obviously winning is a lot more fun, but when it’s with guys you’re close with, it’s even more special. We’re never going to lose hope, we’re never going to stop working and I think we’re just growing closer and closer each day.”

Moulson being locked up is a great sign for an Islanders franchise that has an uncertain future. The team is in search for a new arena but have been unable to obtain one. Their lease with Nassau Coliseum runs out after the 2015 season.

Signing Moulson was so important for the Islanders because it shows Islanders faithful that their team is committed to keeping and developing their young star talents and that they will not be stopped when they want to pony up some cash for their young guns.

This also keeps their franchise face, John Tavares, very happy because it keeps the best friends together. Tavares and Moulson have been roommates and linemates since they both came to the Islanders and they have developed a chemistry that can't be understated.

With 33 games remaining in the season, Moulson now can put all his focus into setting a new career high in goals - he currently has 17 in 49 games. His previous career high was 30, set last season in Moulson's breakout campaign.

“Hopefully I can just be part of a group of guys that gets this team back into the win column and back in to the winning tradition of the Islanders,” Moulson said. “I’m just honored and thankful to be a part of that. We still have a lot of games to play this season. And I’ve worked on a lot of things to get wins this season. So every single day, for everyone on the team, hopefully we can just continue to grow and mature as players and as a team to develop something special.”

Now that Moulson will be on the Island through 2014, he will have that chance to bring the winning tradition back to Long Island.

Yankees Sign Bartolo Colon to Minor League Deal

So the Yankees decided they needed a new starting pitcher for their rotation. They have signed 38 year-old starting pitcher Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal. 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Colon will earn $900K in the majors and has the right to be released if he isn't on the team after Spring Training.

Colon, 38 in May, last pitched in the majors for the 2009 White Sox. He started 12 games for Chicago and posted a 4.19 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 44.4% ground ball rate in 62 1/3 innings. Before that he pitched for the Red Sox, where he was effective for a seven-start stint in 2008. Colon's last standout season came in 2005, when he won the Cy Young Award for the Angels.

Colon, 37, didn't pitch in the majors last season. He last appeared in the majors in 12 games for the White Sox in 2009, going 3-6 with a 4.19 ERA.

In 13 major league seasons with the Indians, Montreal Expos, White Sox, Angels and Red Sox, Colon has a 153-103 record with a 4.10 ERA. He averages 7.0 strikeouts and 3.1 walks per game for his career.

The Yankees lost out on free-agent left-hander Cliff Lee, leaving the rotation thin behind CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett.

General manager Brian Cashman has said the team is searching for another starter, but he also has called the free-agent market, after Lee, a weak one.

I don't see Colon making the team out of Spring Training and I see the team signing other pitchers to fill the spot they are hoping Colon is able to fill himself. He is vastly overweight, very old and hasn't pitched a full season in the majors since 2005.

He also has numerous injuries that usually are the kiss of death for pitchers, and that's been proven right so far, such as shoulder and elbow injuries.

This signing is a security blanket for if they aren't able to sign anyone else and it's a great signing with no risks because if he doesn't make the team, he gets cut and not paid but if he makes the team and pitches well the Yankees get a fifth starter for $900,000.

My money is on him getting cut, though, as I said. We'll see once Spring Training finishes up at the end of March.

Isles Suspend Nabokov After He Fails to Report

The New York Islanders have suspended recently claimed goalie, Evgeni Nabokov, for failing to report to the team. The 35-year-old goaltender signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings on Jan 20.

As per the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, if a player claimed off waivers in this situation does not report to the team he was claimed by, he will not be permitted to play for another team in the NHL that season.

Nabokov’s agent, Don Meehan, never contacted the Islanders to request the professional courtesy of not claiming the goalie off the waiver wire. There were no calls to suggest that Nabokov would not report to the Islanders if they selected him. There was only word, sent out via the national hockey media, that Nabakov wanted the opportunity to be a No. 1 goaltender somewhere.

So the Islanders, with one injured goalie (Nathan Lawson), one still attempting a comeback (Rick DiPietro) and one top prospect better served in the minors (Kevin Poulin), claimed Nabokov. He did not report. Nabokov is within his rights to blow off the Islanders, but he could have handled this better.

Two other issues regarding Nabokov: calling a member of the media and taking a shot at a team - “I was like, ‘Wow, what’s the point”? he told Pierre Lebrun of ESPN about the NYI claiming him - before speaking with Garth Snow was bad form from a solid professional. Also, the goalie told Lebrun that he hasn’t skated in a while. He hasn’t played since November. He is 35. When, exactly, is he going to be ready to help the Islanders or any other NHL team? It’s almost February.

Of course, Nabokov has every chance to make it right should he decide to report to the Islanders this week.

Islanders Claim Evgeni Nabokov, Nabokov Not Reporting?

The Detroit Red Wings were desperate for a goaltender. They lost Chris Osgood for six to eight weeks with a sports hernia injury and starting goaltender Jimmy Howard has been out with a knee injury.

Their current starting goaltender, Joey MacDonald, is not exactly someone that comes with a lot of faith, just ask Islanders fans about his 2008-2009 horrid season with the team.

So with those thoughts in GM Ken Holland's mind, he set out to sign the best available goaltender on the market to alleviate the pain caused by the losses of Osgood and Howard by signing 35 year-old former Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov after he was released from his contract in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

The Red Wings signed Nabokov to a one year, $570,000 contract for the remainder of the season and the only thing between Nabokov officially signing with the Red Wings was him clearing waivers.

The rules of the waivers system are that Nabokov is offered to the other 29 NHL clubs (in reverse order of the standings) at the same price the Red Wings signed him for. If he clears waivers without another team claiming him, then he becomes property of the Red Wings.

The problem for the Red Wings is the New York Islanders have claimed the goaltender and he is now property of the Islanders.

Nabokov is a great fit for the Islanders because they have a glaring need in the net since they traded Dwayne Roloson on New Years Day. Since then, Rick DiPietro has been sidelined with a groin injury and the flu, Nathan Lawson has been shoddy in net and Kevin Poulin is only 20 years-old. The part that confuses many, though, is that the Islanders are in third-to-last place in the NHL, so why would they block the Red Wings like that?

That's not the part I am here to focus on, I am focusing on the effect this signing has on the other Islander goalies and how it helps Kevin Poulin.

With the signing of Nabokov, the Islanders have the capability to send Poulin back to the AHL to develop more, as many see him as the future netminder of the franchise. Poulin has held his own since being called up, but could use some more seasoning in the AHL. They can also send Lawson back to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers so he can back-up Poulin. The signing of Nabokov gives the Islanders the ability to keep Rick DiPietro healthy by splitting the starting duty between the two netminders.

The problem the Islanders now have, though, is Nabokov is refusing to report to the team.

As per the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, if a player claimed off waivers in this situation does not report to the team he was claimed by, he will not be permitted to play for another team in the NHL that season. Also per CBA rules, Nabokov cannot be used as an asset in a trade to another team, now that the Islanders have plucked him off the waiver wire after he signed a contract with Detroit.

If Nabokov fails to report the Isles have two options: they could suspend him for not reporting, but that probably won't accomplish much, or they could put him back on waivers. The latter option means the Wings -- and other NHL clubs -- now have a second shot at landing Nabokov.

Isles GM Garth Snow thinks Nabokov will, in fact, report. “They are making his jersey as we speak,” Snow said. “We have reserved a flight tomorrow for him to get to Long Island as soon as possible.

“Every thing is on the up-and-up,” Snow said. “I am waiting to speak to the player, but we have spoken to his agent Don Meehan and, as a veteran in this business he knows what is to come next.”

Islanders Trade Roloson to Lightning

First, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Now, onto the news. The Islanders have traded 41-year old goaltender Dwayne Roloson to the Tampa Bay Lightning for 22-year old defenseman Ty Wishart. Wishart will report to the Islanders' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Wishart, 22, was the San Jose Sharks’ first round draft choice, 16th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by the Lightning in the deal that sent defenseman Dan Boyle to the Sharks. Currently in his third professional season, the 6’4”, 222-pound defenseman from Belleville, ON, has 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 31 games with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League.

The Islanders’ newest defenseman has played in five career NHL games, all with Tampa Bay, and recorded one assist with an even rating. In 173 career AHL games with Norfolk and the Worcester Sharks, Wishart has 14 goals and 43 assists for 57 points. Before turning pro, Wishart played four years of junior hockey in the Western Hockey League with the Prince George Cougars and the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Roloson has a 6-13-1 record this season with a 2.64 goals against average (GAA) and a .916 save percentage. The Simcoe, ON, native has a 196-229-42-33 career record with a 2.64 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 532 NHL games. Roloson is just the 11th goaltender in NHL history to play a game after his 41st birthday.

This could turn out to be a good deal for the Islanders because long term, Wishart projects as a top pairing defenseman who plays a lot of minutes and who contributes at both ends of the ice.

Wishart has excellent size, is mobile and has the hockey sense to be a dominant defenseman. He possesses good offensive tools with a heavy shot and good vision in the offensive zone. He does not play the punishing game that is expected of a player of his size, but he is a skilled defender who knows how to use positioning and angles to his advantage. Wishart has continued to improve in two seasons at the AHL level and is on the cusp of being NHL-ready.

I am willing to bet that Wishart comes up to play full-time for the Islanders in a few weeks and when he does, he probably will play big minutes.