Training Camp: Staios, Mara Sought for Invites

Arthur Staple is reporting that former Rangers D Paul Mara and former Oilers and Flames D Steve Staios are being sought after to attend the Islanders training camp on a professional tryout basis. 

Steve Staios

AT: Although I do not feel that Paul Mara would be any help to the team at this point, I believe if Staios can stay healthy he would be the best alternative to the supposed top-4 defenseman trade that seems less and less likely of occurring. Although he only played 39 games last season, when healthy Staios is a great defenseman who can log a solid amount of minutes and can help mentor our young defensemen such as Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald. He's older, yes, but he would be a great presence on the Isles blueline if he can stay healthy and would be a great stopgap for someone like Calvin De Haan. The wheels have fallen off Mara since he left the Rangers and at this point his skill level wouldn't even be that of a bottom pairing D-man. Staios (IMO) would be a far superior option to both McCabe and Mara, although I suppose we have to wait and see if he would even accept coming to camp on a tryout basis first.

CH: I think at this point, I would be open to bringing in McCabe (if he is interested - can't imagine he would not be without a contract), Mara, and Staios. Let them battle it out with Ty Wishart and Mike Mottau for the #6 spot. I would keep the top three for spots 6-8 on the depth cart. With the injury to Katic, the rotation has been shuffled a bit. The Isles have the ability to compensate for this with a mix of veterans and rookies.

Looking at the roster in the aggregate, Mark Eaton, Milan Jurcina, and the #6 defenseman are just potential stop gaps for guys like Calvin de Haan, and maybe even a Wishart or Matt Donovan. But a little competition is good, especially for the kids to see how veterans of stature handle it. No matter who comes to training camp tomorrow, the Isles will be heavily scouting their play on and off the ice to see how they fit into the locker room. If I had my preference, I would prefer Staios and over Mara. But if the latter plays better, then he deserves the spot. No matter what, it will certainly be interesting to see who comes for physicals in the morning.