A Day of Redemption

Well....it's not like Ryan Smyth pulled a Michael Nylander and came back to Long Island....but it was definitely a day of redemption.

Islanders GM Garth Snow made 2 very important signings today, getting former All Star winger Bill Guerin and younger playmaker Mike Comrie signed, sealed and delivered. Guerin and Comrie essentially replace Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth in this lineup. Fedotneko will replace Viktor Kozlov....and with most likely promotions of youngsters Jeff Tambellini and Sean Bergenheim coming up....the Isles are looking much more solid up front. Lets take a look at the 2 newest Isles.

Guerin, originally drafted by NJ in the first round, had always been goal scorer....this last season was no different. Playing for both St. Louis and San Jose....Guerin rebounded from a sub par season by scoring 36 goals. Want to hear an interesting fact about Billy Guerin? Right before the trading deadline, the Isles offered a package of young players and a draft pick to St. Louis for Guerin. The Blues went with the deal from San Jose instead of Garth Snow's offer. The package consisted of F's Robert Nilsson and Ryan O'Marra...and the Islanders first round pick in 2007. That was the exact package we offered for Ryan Smyth. So in essence....the Islanders really replaced Smyth...with the guy who they inquired about in the first place.

Mike Comrie....is a highly skilled 26 year old. Comrie shows blazing speed, and a combonation or fantastic passing skills and a deft scoring touch. He has twice scored 30 goals in his career and has also reached the 60 point mark before as well. Comrie's whole problem has been his"attitude" issues. Sometimes a player needs the right coach in the right situation to thrive...and as Ted Nolan showed last year with classic under achivers Viktor Kozlov,Tom Poti and even Alexei Yashin to an extent, that he can get players on the right path.

Now....lets talk about the contracts.

Guerin is signed for 2 years for $9 million. This should be no concern.....since the Islanders are so far under the cap...they could bring in 3 Guerin's and still have some room. Good move giving him the extra year .

Comrie is only signed for one year.....but dont let that alarm you. Nolan and Snow intend to use Comrie on the top line with Guerin and possibily Fedotenko. Comrie is taking on much more responsibility centering that top line. If he is able to handle it....like they think he can.....Comrie will no doubt be offered a 4 or 5 year contract extention before season's end.

All 3 of these moves are outstanding moves by the organization....

Now all the Islander fan can step away from the ledge....