Islanders Lock Up Frans Nielsen Until 2016
CONTRACT DETAILS: Length: 4 Years (2012-13)-(2015-16) Cap-Hit: $2,700,000 Pay-Out Details:
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Frans Nielsen up until this afternoon was without question the most important pending free agent that the Islanders had. A highly regarded player around the league, Nielsen has drawn a lot of interest from opposing clubs who were hoping to acquire his services. Islanders General Manager Garth Snow, ultimately decided that his worth to the organization was more than what he'd get back in a trade.
A career long New York Islander, Nielsen was selected in the third round (87th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the club. Following his draft year Nielsen played four seasons in the Swedish Elite League and took part in two World Junior Championships. In 2006 the Islanders signed him to an entry level contract and he spent the next two seasons bouncing between the Islanders and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. During the 2008 off-season, presumably because Snow truly knew what he had, Nielsen was signed to a four-year deal that payed him only $525,000 per season. Only a month after he signed that contract the Islanders announced that he had made the pro club and he hasn't looked back.
Primarily known as a defensive forward, and a great one at that, he has also been a solid contributor on the offensive side of the puck. Thats why he is so valuable because he does everything. He is one of the most versatile forwards in the league, and other players around the NHL have realized that. Twice he has been voted by other National Hockey League players as the most underrated player in the league. To further add to the versatility of Nielsen he happens to be a staple on both the power play and penalty kill. His great vision and solid playmaking ability makes him an attractive option to play the point on the power play, and his terrific defensive skill and hockey sense makes him one of the best penalty killers in the league. Not only does he prevent goals from being scored, but he has been a serious scoring threat on the PK. Last season he put up 7 short handed goals which not only led the league, but was more than any total the year prior. Its hard to gauge how well a defensive forward does because stat wise there isn't much that can accurately portray success. That being said, its quite easy to see what he brings to the table in what statistic information is available. Throughout his career he has been on some terrible Islanders teams (to say the least). In order from his rookie season to present, he's been on the 30th placed team (2008-09), the 26th placed team (2009-10), and the 27th placed team (2010-11). Despite that, amazingly, Nielsen has found a way to maintain a positive career plus/minus with a plus-7.
Although this is sometimes overlooked, in today's NHL where shootout wins are so important, Nielsen gives the Islanders a good chance to win almost every time the game gets to that point. Of all active skaters in the NHL that have taken at least ten shootout shots, Frans Nielsen has the best scoring percentage with 57.6% of his attempts being successful. If all of that wasn't enough he also leads all Islanders forwards in blocked shots with 42. It feels like I keep going on and on about different attributes that make him a special player, and I think that in-itself says a lot.
During the past three seasons Nielsen has been the best 'bang for your buck' player in the entire league. At just $525,000 he has been getting paid $100,000 less than Trevor Gillies, truly amazing to think about. His new contract is definitely a lot closer to his true value, but is still a good amount lower than what his open market value would have been, which makes this signing all the more valuable. People around the league (not with the Islanders) were not only disappointed with the news that Nielsen was extended, but jealous that he signed for such a low average salary. The cap-hit is more than reasonable and the length will bring him right through his prime. All-in-all a very solid deal for the Islanders.
A career long New York Islander, Nielsen was selected in the third round (87th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the club. Following his draft year Nielsen played four seasons in the Swedish Elite League and took part in two World Junior Championships. In 2006 the Islanders signed him to an entry level contract and he spent the next two seasons bouncing between the Islanders and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. During the 2008 off-season, presumably because Snow truly knew what he had, Nielsen was signed to a four-year deal that payed him only $525,000 per season. Only a month after he signed that contract the Islanders announced that he had made the pro club and he hasn't looked back.
Primarily known as a defensive forward, and a great one at that, he has also been a solid contributor on the offensive side of the puck. Thats why he is so valuable because he does everything. He is one of the most versatile forwards in the league, and other players around the NHL have realized that. Twice he has been voted by other National Hockey League players as the most underrated player in the league. To further add to the versatility of Nielsen he happens to be a staple on both the power play and penalty kill. His great vision and solid playmaking ability makes him an attractive option to play the point on the power play, and his terrific defensive skill and hockey sense makes him one of the best penalty killers in the league. Not only does he prevent goals from being scored, but he has been a serious scoring threat on the PK. Last season he put up 7 short handed goals which not only led the league, but was more than any total the year prior. Its hard to gauge how well a defensive forward does because stat wise there isn't much that can accurately portray success. That being said, its quite easy to see what he brings to the table in what statistic information is available. Throughout his career he has been on some terrible Islanders teams (to say the least). In order from his rookie season to present, he's been on the 30th placed team (2008-09), the 26th placed team (2009-10), and the 27th placed team (2010-11). Despite that, amazingly, Nielsen has found a way to maintain a positive career plus/minus with a plus-7.
Although this is sometimes overlooked, in today's NHL where shootout wins are so important, Nielsen gives the Islanders a good chance to win almost every time the game gets to that point. Of all active skaters in the NHL that have taken at least ten shootout shots, Frans Nielsen has the best scoring percentage with 57.6% of his attempts being successful. If all of that wasn't enough he also leads all Islanders forwards in blocked shots with 42. It feels like I keep going on and on about different attributes that make him a special player, and I think that in-itself says a lot.
During the past three seasons Nielsen has been the best 'bang for your buck' player in the entire league. At just $525,000 he has been getting paid $100,000 less than Trevor Gillies, truly amazing to think about. His new contract is definitely a lot closer to his true value, but is still a good amount lower than what his open market value would have been, which makes this signing all the more valuable. People around the league (not with the Islanders) were not only disappointed with the news that Nielsen was extended, but jealous that he signed for such a low average salary. The cap-hit is more than reasonable and the length will bring him right through his prime. All-in-all a very solid deal for the Islanders.
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