ENGLEWOOD, NJ- Although many Islander fans are outraged over the trade of their heralded superstar Ziggy Palffy, for once the Islanders might have gotten the upside of a trade. Not since Kenny Jonsson was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1996 have the Islanders actually been able to claim they got the better of a deal. Now before you start ranting and raving over this proclamation let me explain my well-documented reasons. First off it is a travesty that the Isles had to trade their superstar in the first place. Palffy is a three-time 40-goal scorer who is a rare mix of scorer, passer, and skater. He can make spectacular plays at any given moment. However, because of the large 5 year, $25 million contract he signed last season, ironically right before the Islanders game against the Kings, he became expendable. The Islanders as everybody knows are cost cutting and are expected to dump other veterans such as Gino Odjick, Rich Pilon, and Joe Sacco. I feel this trade is made better for the Islanders just by throwing in Bryan Smolinski in the first place. Smolinski, ever since being acquired from Pittsburgh in '95, has been a huge bust. He has followed a long line of Islander talents that just haven't panned out as they were expected too. He showed flashes of greatness, if you can call it that, at the beginning of last year, but then as usual trailed off into the wild blue yonder as his nickname "Smoke" implies. He has only once scored more than 25 in a season and that was back in '96. He never fulfilled expectations and it was a blessing for the Isles to be able to unload him for more than a few late draft picks. The thing I don't understand in this deal is the dealing of young, backup goaltender Marcel Cousineau. Cousineau played sparingly last year in place of Felix Potvin. Cousineau was winless in the 4 contests he started, but didn't play all that terribly. He has a bright upside and unloading him leaves the Islanders with a possible impending problem. If by some stretch of the imagination the Thrashers pick up Wade Flaherty in the expansion draft (which seems unlikely after Atlanta acquired Damian Rhodes, and reportedly are ready to acquire Trevor Kidd) then that would leave the Islanders with no backup. It does not seem they are ready to call up "God", better known as Roberto Luongo, and that would leave them with extremely minimal choices. Who would they choose, Mark MacArthur? Possibly goaltending coach Gilles Gilbert? That is a mystery. Although like I mentioned it appears as if Flaherty will stay on. Back to the rest of the deal. I feel the Islanders got the better of the deal because for once Milbury was not slighted and actually ended up with the players he wanted. Like I said in my previous column, "Fall from Grace", the main thing the Islanders were looking for in a deal for Palffy was someone, who in the short-term, could replace Ziggy. I think they have found that in highly touted forward Olli Jokinen. Some compare Jokinen to all-time great goal scorer Maurice "Rocket" Richard. Others think he is a miniature version of Peter Forsberg. In other words you can already detect his versatility. He has soft hands, can thread the needle on great passes (ala Mike Modano) and has tremendous vision of the ice. Like Ziggy he is a flashy skater who can stop on a dime and also like Palffy he can light the lamp with consistency. Although he probably won't match Palffy's goal production, he could well rack up more points than Palffy has over the last few years. The reason is because he can be counted on to score 30+ goals a season and will probably set up many more goals than Palffy (possibly 60-65 assists). Not to be ignored is Jokinen's feisty personality. He, like Forsberg, has a certain mean streak to him. He is capable of racking up close to 100 PIM, although that is not what the Islanders acquired him for. It is an added advantage, though, because he won't back down from many people. He knows how to play and that is why he was the 3rd pick in the '97 Entry Draft only behind Marian Hossa and Patrick Marleau. Another key component in this deal is big forward Josh Green. I did not get to see Green play much because he plays almost exclusively on the West Coast. However, I have heard good things about him. He is a big body who can drive to the net and can occasionally light the lamp. The Isles are hoping he will become the effective power forward they haven't had since the days of Bobby Nystrom. The Islanders had several power forward hopefuls with the likes of Bret Lindros and Todd Bertuzzi, both of who never panned out. They got brief respite from former captain Trevor Linden, but he had too many other responsibilities on the team to be a full time power forward. Now they can hope to rely on Green who has good size at 6-3, 210, but needs to improve his toughness and grit. I feel the sleeper in this deal is monstrous defenseman Mathieu Biron, not to be confused with Buffalo goalie Martin Biron. Mathieu Biron was the 21st pick overall in last year's draft. However, many people feel he should have gone higher because of his immense size and good agility for a big man. Biron stands at 6-6, 230 and has modeled his game after the Blue's Chris Pronger, who is of a similar stature. He is widely unrecognized, except for maybe some people on the West Coast. He adds a new dimension to the Islander defensive prospects…size. Besides 6-9 Zdeno Chara, the Islanders are truly lacking a big presence on the blue line. If you look at most of their defensive prospects (i.e. Jonsson, Brewer, Chebaturkin, and Giroux) they are all small, finesse defenseman who can bulge the twine. However, Chara and Biron will serve different purposes. They won't be counted on to generate much offense. Instead, when, and it is only a matter of time, the Islanders do trade Pilon, those two giants will probably have to assume the role of covering the opposition's big guys such as Lindros, Primeau, Tkachuk, and Shanahan. They do have another defensive prospect in Ray Schultz, but although scrappy like Pilon, does not have much size. The ice will be pretty crowded when those two monsters are on the ice at the same time. The pick in this deal for the Islanders (the 8th overall) is a must. The Islanders needed another high pick in the draft in a deal for Palffy and they got it. They could build tremendously with their triumvirate of picks. After all, some are calling this the deepest draft this decade. The Islanders could a) package their picks for a higher selection or b) stay where they are and select some good talent in guys like Tyler Pyatt, Kris Beech, Jani Rita, and Dennis Shvidki. All in all there are several reasons I think this trade will benefit the Islanders greater than the Ranger trade. Not just because Palffy doesn't go to our cross-town rivals, but because no one knows if Harvey can stay healthy. That is a major factor. Also because Sundstrom has not shown me he can be a truly effective force at a higher level. If you have any suggestions or ideas on what issues you would like me to write about, just post them in the message board.
Now I would like to briefly cover another topic: The Expansion Draft
Slowly, but surely the expansion Atlanta Thrashers roster is starting to take shape. They acquired the first player in franchise history when they rescued Damian Rhodes from Ottawa's two-headed goaltending tandem. I think this is an important acquisition because as any hockey fan knows the key to starting a good franchise is an experienced, quality backstop. That was partially evidenced last year when the Nashville Predator's first year success was greatly based on the play of Mike Dunham (when he was healthy). Now there have been rumors swirling around that after the expansion draft the Thrashers will announce another trade, but this time with the Carolina Hurricanes for goalie Trevor Kidd. This is a smart move for the Thrashers because they learn from other teams' mistakes. For instance when Dunham was injured last year for the greater part of Winter, the Preds were stuck switching between Eric Fichaud (who ended up missing most of the season with a shoulder injury), Tomas Vokoun, and Derrick Mason all who were lifetime backups, busts, or inexperienced rookies. By having a tandem of Kidd and Rhodes this would allow Atlanta to switch freely between them, knowing that both is capable of carrying the team. That is of course if this deal does end up going through. Another rumored deal, although a minor one, should boost Atlanta's depth on the 3rd and 4th lines and the penalty kill. This acquisition would be that of Steve Dubinsky from Calgary. Dubinsky is a defensive minded forward, who doesn't have much of an offensive touch, but is a skilled defender, who might eventually challenge for Selke Trophy when given more playing time. The protected lists for the draft will be released 48 hours before the actual expansion begins. At that time I will make my picks from each time and post them on the message board. I will also write a complementary article on both the expansion and entry drafts, which will both come by Sunday. Remember the Expansion Draft is Friday, June 25th at 2:00 PM ET and the Entry Draft is Saturday, June 26th at 3:00 PM ET.
Todd Singer writes for hockeypage.freeservers.com of Cresskill, NJ.
