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Just told Isles traded the 4th rounder they got from Chicago for Bouchard & Regin for Halak.

Not exactly the total answer, but a very good step in the right direction. And only spending a 4th to get them is very good. I'd have gladly sent those 2 guys plus a 4th at any time last year.

Edit- Halak is slated to be a UFA July 1, so this just gives the Isles 2 months of exclusive negotiating rights. Could be really smart, or really stupid. Time will tell. Sounded way too good to be right.

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http://capitalstoday.monumentalnetwork. ... -for-halak

He's as close to an answer as the Isles will find. Hope they sign him.

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Yeah I didn't realize his numbers were that good. Overall .921 % last year. Granted he was on teams with far better D than the Isles. funny, most Isles blogs were hoping they'd get Holtby.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

If Snow can't get THIS deal done, you absolutely have to jettison him.

I don't see why Halak wouldn't sign. He won't get a better opportunity elsewhere.

I have to hope he knows that. But this IS the Islanders we're talking about. They got Ehrhoff in a similar situation & he refused to sign, in favor of Buffalo. How'd that work out for you bud?

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Most places are saying it will take a 3-5 year deal at $4 million to get him to sign. That makes no sense to me, since he made $4.5 million last year and his agent said he was interested in a long term deal. 3-5 years doesn't sound long to me. I think of short term as 1-2 years, mid-term as 3-5 and long term as 6-8. Is that just me?
I'm thinking he wants something like 6 years at $4.5 million. I'd give it to him, but of course it's not my wallet.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

If he gets offered 3 years at $4m he should jump at it. He had one great playoff run and ever since has almost lost his starting gig a few times, had injury trouble and more recently been passed between teams like a plate of hors d'oeurves.

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Snow was quoted in papers they don't have any goalies signed for next year, and has hinted they don't really have much interest in Poulin or Nilsson. Nilsson has said it's NHL or Europe for him. Poulin should get a 2 way deal & be the starter in Bridgeport, with Kenny Reiter as backup there. There are rumors they'll bring back Nabokov as backup. Fine. But Halak basically knows he has them over a barrel. He may not be the best goalie out there, but they thought enough of him to trade just to get to talk to him exclusively for 2 months. That shows how desperate they are. And I still agree with the move. I just think he's going to demand like 6 years at $4.7 million. His agent has said he wants a long term deal. No way he's signing for only 3, unless it's for crazy money.

I know this deal won't get done until close to July 1st, as it's in Halak's interest to make the Isles sweat & increase their offers, but I can't help checking every day to see if he's signed, or at least if there are rumors of the terms being discussed.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Halak signs a four-year deal with the Isles.

Smart move.

Better than anything they've had in a while. A good goalie opens up a world of possibilities, like being able to win hockey games.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=452876

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Curious about the $ but it seems like a really good fit for both team at that term length

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Shoresy, "It's called a sweater"

Basic numbers suggest that if Halak gave his career average SV% to Isles this past year over 60 starts, the Isles would've been close to an even team in goal differential.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

4yrs, $18m

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This is close to a 6 win swing for the Isles from last year just with this signing. You can't bank on Halak's health, but really we're looking at a high 80s-low 90s team in terms of points just with this signing. Shedding MacDonald probably helped as well, though losing Moulson/Vanek obviously hurt.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

Price of doing business. There's no goalie in the pipeline, and other UFA's (Miller) will cost more.

Good to see they didn't try to nickle and dime it. Halak comes with risk, but dumpster diving for a goalie could have ended disastrously.

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Like it did this year.

They're all in this year, BTW. Deferred the 1st rounder in the Vanek trade to 2015 today as well. I have a feeling these two transactions are a bit related.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

Protecting this year's 1st rounder was a no-brainer. I don't care how bad this year's draft supposedly is, you can't give up a 5th overall pick for nothin', even if said pick goes bust. At least next season they have some control over it, and frankly I think they'll be fine. They appear to have a pretty good top four on defense, even without Reinhart (whom I'm told had a bad year in juniors), and the forward corps is as good as any in hockey. And while Chris doesn't like Cap, I think he'll prove his worth IF Halak can at least be reliable and the team stays relatively healthy.

Which Reinhart? Griffin was just MVP of the memorial playoffs. He's kicking ass.
Very happy about this deal. I was afraid they go way long on term. Four years is perfect.
And yes, keeping this year's pick is smart. Hopefully they'll have a very low pick next year.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

I thought it was odd when I read it. Some stats guy for the Isles tweeted it and I may have missed the context, or he was just looking at PPG totals.

His PPG dropped every year similar to Duncan Siemens'. I don't think it's a tremendous red flag (he still produced decently), but it's notable that he won't be likely to provide much offence and usually high end NHL D do that.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

From everything I've read, on Isles & non-Isles hindernet sites, Griffin Reinhart was an absolute stud this year, and is damn near a guarantee to make & help the Isles next year. I really don't see how he could hurt their D compared to last year.

Back to original topic- I like what Snow did here, all around. True, $4.5 million is a lot, but the Isles really needed to bring in a recognizable name not past his prime. Now, for a backup who can play a lot. The UFA market seems to be flooded with backups, and that will be key. Halak apparently had his worst year ever when he played 50 games. The backup needs to be good. Poulin isn't going to cut it. I wish they'd replace Dunham too, but I don't see that happening. Maybe he & halak will hate each other.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.