After Moulson, Grabner, Okposo, Nilsson, Cizikas and the first vote hurdle, this off season is the most interesting for Isles fans in quite a while. There are still players to resign. UFA’s under consideration are Trevor Gillies, Zenon Konopka and Radek Martinek. I would hate to see Gillies go, despite the two incidents last season, Gillies is a great team guy, liked in the room and has the heart that becomes infectious. Zenon Konopka was also a reason for some resurgence in early 2011, but is likely to be the odd man out. Radek Martinek is a true Islander and although he is a solid stay at home defensemen, he is injury prone. The improvements needed on defense may not include him this year.
RfA’s, which will most likely be signed are Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, Robin Figren, Michael Haley, Dustin Kohn and Jack Hillen. Bailey is highly skilled, but really needs a breakout similar to the one he started last season, but failed to maintain. Blake Comeau had a strong season and proved he was reliable in just about any role. Rob Figren had a good year with the Sound Tigers, and may be ready to push for a spot with the big club. Michael Haley showed grit, toughness and the dangerous ability as a scoring threat around the net. Dustin Kohn continues to impress and is developing well into a skilled D-man. In my opinion, Jack Hillen has really become a top 4 defensemen; there are many games where his name is heard over and over again, and for all the right reasons.
Some question marks may be Jesse Joensuu, Dylan Reese and Bruno Gervais who is arbitration eligible. I have been a fan of Joensuu for a few years now, and although he has misfired a couple of times when called up, the presence of new Head Coach, Jack Capuano seems to have given him a new purpose. He improved in the second half last year and I think if he continues to develop his scoring touch and his strength improves in his physical game, he could be a force on the Islanders. Dylan Reese has played well in a relief role and when he was called upon, he performed well and made limited mistakes. But with the depth of a healthy Isles Defense, like Bruno Gervais, may make him expendable this season.
The Draft and July 1st free agent periods are always interesting. Nabokov may become a draft choice for the Islanders or may be traded for a prospect that could pan out and actually want to play on Long Island.
Nino Niederreiter will most likely stick around. I am looking forward to his skill and nastiness on the improving Islanders this year. I think Garth Snow made the right move sending him down for another season to grow as a leader and a player. Kevin Poulin has me equally fired up. Poulin was awesome in relief and excelled as a starter last year. He was only undone by a knee injury which he expects to have corrected for training camp. Stud Defensemen, Calvin DeHaan may see time on Long Island if he continues to impress. Krill Kabanov, by all reports is growing up. The low risk grab by the Isles may prove to be a genius later pick in time to come. Kirill Petrov has struggled for Kazan and with one year still remaining on his contract there, may not make Isles camp this year due to family obligations. The giant Petrov is still said to be a diamond in the rough. Rhett Rakhshani is coming off a great season in Bridgeport and will compete for a spot this year, count on it.
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