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.”