Islanders Acquire Brian Rolston

Trade Details:

The New York Islanders trade Trent Hunter to the New Jersey Devils for Brian Rolston.

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Breakdown:

Islanders Acquire:  Brian Rolston Islanders Send: Trent Hunter

Summary Of Deal From An Islanders Perspective:

The Islanders were a little over $9 million away from the Salary Cap Floor before this move and have been trying to figure out ways to get themselves to the required $48.3 million. They also have been looking for another nice veteran forward, and with this deal they were able to fill that need as well as (almost) solve the salary issues. Rolston, despite being very overpaid (something that the Isles are happy about), is a very solid NHL'er. He brings some leadership to the table that will be needed because of Konopka's departure, and has a skill-set that is ideal for a re-building team like the Isles. That skill-set is attractive mainly due to the fact that it makes him an extremely versatile hockey player. He has an impressive shot and can be a very effective player on the power play. Along with his power play abilities, he is also a superb penalty killer. That ability to play in all situations and at all forward positions (I forgot to mention that...he can play center, left wing, right wing...any forward position), makes him a player that will be more valuable than some seem to realize. Along with his skills, what I like about him too, is the fact that he wants to play here. He has a NTC, yet decided that the Isles were a team he would want to play for. He said after the trade that the Isles are a young, up-and-coming club and he would love to be apart of it. Its very important that he approached the move with that mentality as I believe he will become a big influence in the room. I also believe he will be a great line-mate for Josh Bailey, as they're style's seem to complement each other. Believe it or not, this is also a big plus because the Isles were able to dump Trent Hunter. Hunter is a player that I grew up watching and I really enjoyed seeing him grow and develop in an Islanders sweater, but he has dwindled down to only a shell of his former self in the past few years. Despite being just 31 years old, his body has deteriorated tremendously and injuries kept him to only 17 games this past season. His skating has been a problem throughout his entire NHL career, but in the past two seasons in particular its been worse than any NHL'er I have ever seen. It looks like he is skating in quicksand...literally, and that bad skating doesn't fit in with the Isles up-beat tempo which is another reason why Rolston will fit in well, as his quick skating is something that complements the Islanders current style of play. Trent Hunter at this point, was just eating up a spot in the Isles line-up and because he was signed to a 5-year deal after his solid season in 2007-08, he still had this year and next year on his contract. That was something the Isles were not planning to deal with, so the fact that they were able to move him for a guy that only has one-year left on his contract as well as provide a lot more to the team is very impressive. Even though I love this deal for the Islanders, its pretty even for both sides considering, it gave the Devils some much needed cap space and now they are most likely going to be able to sign Zach Parise. But really though, that should not even be a concern for the Isles as I believe getting rid of Trent Hunter and gaining Brian Rolston is a move thats a clear plus from the Isles side. Now looking at the Islanders off-season thus far, it should be noted that the mind-set seems to be to "upgrade". They have upgraded Konopka with Reasoner, Hunter with Rolston, and they continue to try and find a player via trade to upgrade Radek Martinek. 
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What The Islanders Gain In Adding Brian Rolston:
-Good power play point man 
-Terrific penalty killer
-Two-way winger
-Big salary which gets them closer to floor, while only having one year left on deal while Hunter had two left.
-Established Leader

What The Islanders Lose In Trading Trent Hunter:
-Long Tenured Islander
-When he's healthy, he can provide a gritty, board presence 
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Final Thoughts:
Good deal for the Islanders who just added a nice 3rd liner that has a ton of intangibles. Also according to Chris Botta this deal is a pre-cursor to another trade the Islanders are working on so keep an eye out.