Goodbye Batsy, HNLI & Free Agency

I will be making an appearance on Hockey Night on Long Island today for the second straight week. The second half of the show is going to include a round table discussion about the upcoming free agency period and what the Islanders plans should be.

RW Shawn Bates has been placed on waivers by the Islanders and is most likely headed for a buyout of the remaining year of his $1.2 million contract. under NHL buyout provisions, he will receiver two-thirds of that amount in equal installments of $400,000 spread over the next two seasons. He finishes his Islander career 42nd all-time in scoring with 58 goals and 170 points in 330 games played.

It is sad to see Bates go, but it was a move that had to be made by the New York Islanders. The chronic groin injury he has is just too far gone as it limited him to only 4 games last season, only two of which were with the Islanders. The one time member of the Lucky 7's line with Mark Parrish and Micheal Peca will always be remembered for scoring the biggest goal of this decade for the Islanders, if not one of the biggest goals in franchise history, when he blasted a shot by Toronto's Curtis Joseph (pictured above) in Game 4 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at the Nassau Coliseum. Thanks for that great memory Shawn. But like I said it is time to move on.

Just learned today that LW Eric Nystrom re-signed with the Calgary Flames. So a potential free agency steal is off the board. I honestly don't see the Islanders doing much in free agency. Garth Snow recently came out and stated Mike Comrie was his #1 center next season and Mike Sillinger was his #2. If that's true the Islanders are in for a long season and that could solidify a high pick in the 2009 draft. The only thing that puzzles the brain is Snow's unwillingness to admit the team is in a rebuilding phase. Personally, I don't think that unwillingness means he's going to be active in free agency. It means he has alot of faith in the youngsters currently on the team and their ability to keep the Islanders competitive. In the end it just may not be enough.

The Islanders recently announced they have submitted qualifying offers to the following restricted free agents: Sean Bergenheim, Bruno Gervais, Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen, Jeremy Colliton and Ben Walter. All of these players fit perfectly into the Islanders current youth movement. Not given a qualifying offer was Aaron Johnson, Drew Fata and Steve Regier.