Garth Dumps Vets At Deadline

In a move that nobody (and I mean nobody) saw coming, New York Islanders General Manager Garth Snow dropped a trading deadline day bomb at 3 PM on Monday. The Islanders moved LW Brian Rolston and D Mike Mottau to the Boston Bruins for two prospects.

The veterans, whom the Islanders had brought in at the beginning of the season to provide production and leadership for the youngsters on the Isles' roster, wound up not doing much of either. Snow, decided to pull the plug on the experiment, receiving Yannick Riendeau and Marc Cantin in return.

While it's not a trade that will have much impact for the big picture of the Islanders' rebuild, it does allow younger replacements such as Casey Cizikas, David Ullstrom, and perhaps Mark Katic to assume larger roles at the NHL level.

Unfairly or not, Mottau and Rolston had come to symbolize everything that was wrong with the veterans on this year's Islanders; too old, under-productive, and overpaid.

Perhaps two tweets best summarized Islanders fans' elation and what the trade means:

From Craig Buckser (@cbuckser): "Garth wins if the prospects are still breathing."

Taking a more analytical approach soon after was Eric Hornick (@ehornick): "Isles trade two players not part of their future, save $1.3 million doing so, and then add two players who could potentially develop."

While it won't help the Islanders make the playoffs this year, it sounds as if folks are pleased with the move. As they should be.