As Expected, Isles Trade Guerin

Mar 5th, 2009 | By Brian Bohl | Category: New York Islanders, Top Story

UNIONDALE, NY- Instead of a slew of comings and goings, the Islanders made just one anticipated deal before the NHL’s trade deadline Wednesday.

General manager Garth Snow’s only move was an expected transaction, as the Islanders traded Bill Guerin to Pittsburgh for a conditional draft pick. The Isles will receive no worse than a fifth round pick that could be bumped up to a fourth-round choice if the Penguins qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Should the Pens win a postseason round and Guerin appears in half of Pittsburgh’s games, the Islanders will receive a third rounder. The fifth-round selection originally belonged to Tampa Bay.

“The entire Islanders organization has the utmost respect for Bill Guerin and we sincerely thank him for his time on Long Island and as the team’s captain,” Snow said.

Before the 3 p.m. deadline, NHL clubs completed 22 trades totaling 45 players and 21 draft picks. But the Islanders did not make any more trades after shipping out the team’s captain. Snow held on to impending free agents Doug Weight and Andy Hilbert and also kept defensemen Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek, who were rumored to be on the trading block.

“As a seller, you can’t make a trade for the sake of making a trade,” Snow said in Room 6 at Nassau Coliseum, the same site where two years ago the Isles shocked the league by acquiring All-Star Ryan Smyth for a stretch-run deadline deal.

Guerin became the 11th captain in franchise history when he signed a two-year deal before the 2007-08 season. He was one of just two Isles to crack the 20-goal mark in last season, notching 23 goals and 21 assists in 81 games. He tallied 39 goals in 142 games for the Islanders, including career goal No. 400 earlier in the current campaign. The 38-year-old will be joining his seventh team after agreeing to waive his no-move clause to go to a Penguins team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals last spring.

“Billy brings that veteran presence,” Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero said. “He’s a right winger with a right shot, and he can still skate. I talked to him this afternoon after the trade and I told him what I was expecting of him. He’s a goal scorer. Billy Guerin can play with good players and score goals - he’s certainly done that in the past. I think we have the players for him to play with and support him.

“He has size. We wanted to get bigger and we wanted to get a little bit stronger up front and I believe that’s a good fit. Hopefully it’s a good move for both of us.”

The move settled a situation that dominated talk around the Islanders after Snow pulled Guerin from the ice before Saturday night’s against Buffalo. Guerin skated in the pregame warmup but was not on the bench for the opening faceoff. He also was held out of Monday’s victory over Colorado, fueling trade speculation that had reports suggesting Guerin could be headed to Montreal or Washington.

“I had a conversation leading up to the warm-up and after contacting Bill’s agent and talking it over a little bit, it was in everyone’s best interest that he probably shouldn’t play and when I say we, I mean the three of us…really didn’t want to risk bill getting injured,” Snow said.

Snow left open the possibility for re-signing Hilbert and Weight and said he never intended to conduct whole-sale changes despite the Isles league-low 47 points and 20-36-7 record.

“We’ll do whatever we have to do to be better,” Snow said. “We weren’t going just go in and have a fire sale. If we identify a free agent to be as someone as we can re-sign, we’ll take that road.”

Last year at the trade deadline, the Penguins also made a move at the deadline before playing the Islanders. The same press room at Nassau Coliseum was where the Pens announced Marian Hossa’s acquisition, which propelled Pittsburgh into the finals. Entering Wednesday night, the Pens were clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot with 72 points and 17 games remaining.

“They’re playing great; I’m really looking forward to it,” Guerin told TSN. “I’ll just go in and be myself. They get you for a specific reason. The best thing you can do is just go and be yourself and support the leadership that they have there. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

On a side note, Guerin’s acquisition comes on the same day the Pens assigned former Islander Miroslav Satan to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Satan was subjected to trade rumors last deadline but the Isles kept him for the remainder of the regular season and let him leave as a free agent over the summer.

More Moves Besides Guerin; Islanders Send Down Sim

UNIONDALE, NY- Garth Snow pulled off a blockbuster two years ago when he packaged prospects and a first-round draft pick for All-Star 40-goal scorer Ryan Smyth. But two years later, the only trade deadline move the Islanders made was shipping Bill Guerin to Pittsburgh for a conditional fifth-round pick that might turn into a third-round choice.

While the Guerin deal didn’t exactly dominate headlines around the league, it still ended days of speculation about the 38-year-old winger’s future. Snow also completed some minor deals yesterday, assigning Jon Sim to AHL Bridgeport and activated defenseman Thomas Pock and center Nate Thompson from injured reserve.

Impending free agents Andy Hilbert and Doug Weight were retained and Snow said both players could be offered contract extensions. The third-year general manager said the opportunity to shop veterans at the deadline was a unique experience.

“No, not disappointed or frustrated,” Snow said about the lack of deals. “For me it was the first time as GM that I’ve been in this situation where we were sellers…first year we were buyers, last year we were two back from a playoff position…putting a price tag on certain deals…if it happened we would have seriously considered it obviously this year with the situation we were in we were looking obviously to be a seller.”

Islanders management touted this season as a youth movement where developing prospects would be valued more than wins and losses. Yet some player conflicts with first-year head coach Scott Gordon led to trading 24-year-old defenseman Chris Campoli and Mike Comrie in a trade to Ottawa that netted a late first-round pick.

When a club enters the deadline sporting an NHL-low 47 points and a 20-36-7 record and will not likely tout a 30-goal scorer for a second consecutive season, Snow suggested there is no list of untouchables on the roster.

“Obviously there is no one who is untradeable the same way Wayne Gretzky got traded, anything can happen…you can’t in a situation we’re in being in 30^th place, have a lot of players who are untradeable.

“We have a good foundation of players who are returning and we can get healthy now, and over the summer and be flying when training camp arrives. But now obviously the team is playing well, we have a lot of younger players and the veterans who have done an admiral job in tough situations. We are here to win hockey games too.”

While Campoli was traded off Long Island, 34-year-old Brendan Witt will continue to call Nassau Coliseum his home. While that move might cause some people to question the consistency in touting a youth movement, Snow said Witt still has value to the team despite his public criticism of Gordon’s system earlier this season.

“To me Brendan Witt is what the Islanders are looking to be. He’s tough he plays with a lot of heart, selfless; he’s a good leader in the locker room. He’s a player we’ve had here for a few years now and were happy he’s back for two more.”

Snow did not immediately name a success for Guerin, who was the 11^th captain in franchise history. He did praise the former 40-goal scorer for embracing the captaincy when he signed a two-year contract before the 2007-08 campaign.

“He’s a great leader,” Snow said. “It’s tough for me because Bill is a good friend of mine, it’s a tough part of the job for me when you have to do a move like this, with a player whose a close friend.”