Isles on deadline day: Rolston/Mottau to BOS for Riendeau/Cantin

Let's call it a case of addition by subtraction.

On a generally quiet deadline day for the league as a whole, Garth Snow found a way to get two of the biggest albatrosses on the team off of the books and away from the organization. Rolston, who had been putting up abysmal numbers this year and at many points seemed to not care, cleared waivers yesterday. Teams had been showing interest, but nobody picked up the tab. However, close to the 3:00 deadline, Garth Snow managed to finagle a deal out of the defending Cup champions, and sent both Rolston and Mike Mottau to Massachusetts. The Islanders received some much needed AHL depth to their team in return in forward Yannick Riendeau and defenseman Marc Cantin. Both undrafted players playing in Boston's ECHL and AHL affiliates this season, they will undoubtedly help provide some jump to the Sound Tigers' playoff run this year. Riendeau tore up the QMJHL in his last year of juniors but never really found his way into the NHL, and Cantin has spent time before with former Casey Cizikas on the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. The bottom line of this trade was getting rid of two players who were bringing down the team with their less than adequate play. While there's not much positive one can say about Rolston, best wishes to Mike Mottau to finding a role in his home state of Massachusetts. By all accounts, Mike is a wonderful person to be around and a great human being. Best wishes on helping Boston raise the Stanley Cup again.

Surprisingly, P.A. Parenteau was not moved and most rumblings seem to indicate he will eventually re-sign with the Islanders. He may have been shopped, but clearly the return was not high enough to justify a trade. Evgeni Nabokov was also thought by many to be on his way out but seems to still be working on a possible deal with the Islanders to stay.

In addition, this deal also saves the Islanders $1.2m in cap space, not that it was needed. The Islanders are firmly planted at the bottom of the pack in terms of salary. This should leave absolutely no excuse for Snow not to re-sign P.A. Parenteau. Nabokov, should he choose to stay, should also make a decent payday with this removal of salary which was coming this offseason regardless.

Of all the impending free agents people thought the Islanders would move including Milan Jurcina and Mark Eaton, the least expected were. Clearly, the asking price for these players was not high enough for Snow's liking, and he declined the deals presented to him.

Season Preview: Mike Mottau

Mike Mottau


Position: Defenseman

Height: 6'0"
Weight: 190 lbs
Birthdate: March 19th, 1978 (33 years old)
Birthplace: Quincy, Massachusetts, US
Acquired: Signed Free Agent, 2010

2010-2011 Team: New York Islanders
2010-2011 Stats: 20 GP - 0 G - 3 A - 3 P - 8 PIM
2011-2012 Team: New York Islanders
Team Role: 6th/7th D-Man

Last year: Signed on an emergency basis after the injury to Mark Streit, Mottau had an okay year with the Islanders. He was never expected to be more than nor did he play like more than a bottom pairing d-man, but he did so efficiently on a team that was decimated with injuries. He played a somewhat solid game until he was struck with an injury of his own when he was hit in the eye with a puck on November 21st, ending his season prematurely.


Expectations: Mottau should be filling the 7th d-man role, but if no other d-man is chosen to fill the 6th spot, no trade is made or Steve Staios wins it out, Mottau will take the 6th spot in the depth chart. He's a veteran to the game and was always known to be a very steady defender for the Devils, so we can expect a very similar style of play in a full season with Mottau. If he can stay healthy, he is a very stable d-man, and can help provide solid defense in the back end. It is more likely than anything however that he will fill the 7th D spot as intended.

Projections: 36 GP - 2 G - 4 A - 6 P

Thoughts:

AT: After Streit's freak accident injury, Mottau provided a pretty solid 20 minute game as a bottom pairing D-man. I do however believe that if placed in the permanent 6th d-man position, the Islanders are going to have a very tough time. He is great as a substitute, but not so much in the permanent bottom pairing role. I'm not saying we're going to be dead last if he's the 6th d-man, but if we're attempting to make the playoffs this year we're going to need to strive for a little better.

CH: The fact is that Mottau did not have a great first year with the Islanders. However, he has put together solid seasons before with the Devils, so there is potential for a serviceable NHL player there. That said, Alex is right. Mottau coming in as a 7th or even 8th defenseman on the depth chart would be ideal. Mottau will certainly be in consideration for the final starting spot though, alongside Ty Wishart, Steve Staios, and Calvin de Haan to a much lesser extent. But the fact is the Isles need a bigger upgrade for that sixth spot than what Mottau can give. Chances are he puts in an adequate season coming wdown from the press box as needed, but anything over 15 minutes for him per game will be pushing his limit.

Speculation: Martinek Won't Be Back Next Season

New York Islanders

According to Chris Botta at Islanders Point Blank, the Islanders will most likely not bring defenseman Radek Martienk back to Long Island next season. Martinek has been an Islander his entire career, since 2001-02 and has played 453 games for the team. Botta implies that Snow may be looking for an upgrade on the defensive corps in free agency, which begins July 1.

CH: To me, this is the most prudent move by Snow and the Islanders. There is no question Martinek was a very good Islander - he played here for a long time at a high level. But he is getting up there in age, and he's always had questions about his durability. The Islanders already have 6 defensemen under contract for next season: Mark Streit, Mark Eaton, Milan Jurcina, Andrew MacDonald, Travis Hamonic, and Mike Mottau. They also have three restricted free agents in Ty Wishart (will be back), Jack Hillen (debatable), and Bruno Gervais (extremely unlikely), not to mention prospects such as Calvin de Haan and Matt Donovan, who are just a little Bridgeport seasoning away from potentially making an NHL impact.

The Islanders, without question, need to upgrade their defense. The team finished 27th in goals against last season, which is not good enough. With Martinek as a free agent, he is the easiest to let go, as he is a fringe top-4 guy, but more likely a 3rd pairing guy on good teams. So while guys like de Haan and Donovan develop, the team needs to bring in a top-4 guy like Eric Brewer (reportedly close to an extension with Tampa Bay), who will be here for the next few years as the team transitions from lottery team to playoff contender. Martinek does not fit that profile. That said, keeping the door open is also smart. If the Islanders happen to strike out in free agency on the back end, bringing in Martinek for one more year will make sense. Either way, the team cannot go into next season with the same D-corps as this season. Martinek will land on his feet either in the NHL or in Europe, and I wish him the absolute best.

AT: While Martinek was, quite amazingly, the most healthy D-man last year, it's time for the Isles to move on. He's a solid D-man but the Isles NEED to get better, and with the possibility of a top 4 d-man coming in and a bottom pairing of Eaton and Jurcina with Hillen and Mottau as the 7 and 8, there's just very little room for Martinek. I see Garth going hard for someone like Scott Hannan if he fails to draft Hamilton with the 5th pick. Martinek was a great guy and nothing but nice and I wish him the best, but it's time for the Isles to push this rebuild into 2nd gear.