On Sept. 12, 2006, the New York Islanders signed goalie Rick DiPietro to a 15-year contract worth $67.5 million. Anyone else want to climb into the time machine to tell them they'd be desperately signing a soon-to-be-40-year-old starter to a two-year contract worth $5 million in 2009?
Dwayne Roloson joins the Islanders, and if that doesn't speak volumes about their concerns about DiPietro's heath then nothing does. Roloson, on TSN, explained his motivation for leaving the Edmonton Oilers:
"I wanted to try and get a two-year deal, and it was one of the teams that offered a two-year deal," he said. "That's it. That's why."
Quite an endorsement.
Roloson leaving is somehow being portrayed as a "black mark" on the city of Edmonton, like he's Pronger's wife or something. Whatever. The real issue is that the Oilers' goaltender right now is Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers and the UFA pickings are slim.
Michael Russo of the Star Tribune has mentioned Josh Harding of the Minnesota Wild, an RFA, as an option. It might be time to speak of him as the only option for the Oil. Unless they're interested in Cristobal Huet or (gulp) Jose Theodore.
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Also, Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Kopecky goes to Scotty Bowman the Chicago Blackhawks for two years and $2.4 million. The Buffalo Sabres also made a signing, getting defenseman Steve Montador for a two-year deal at $1.55 million per season.
