UFA

As reported previously this week, the New York Islanders locked up defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky with a two-year contract extension worth $9.5 million.

GM Garth Snow has once again managed to acquire a valuable veteran through the trade market and convince him to stay longer than planned after he previously tried to avoid joining the team (Photo Credit: Robert Kowal/Flickr).

The first player that went through a similar scenario was goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who is also playing in the final year of his contract. However, it has already been reported by Arthur Staple of Newsday that he appears to have an interest with staying with the team.

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With news of Roberto Luongo requesting a trade from the Vancouver Canucks, and the Tampa Bay Lightning deciding to explore other options for a starting goaltender, rumours of the Toronto Maple Leafs pursuing the 33-year-old goaltender have heated.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie, however, mentioned that the Leafs, as of now, are not believed to be interested.

Assistant general manager Dave Nonis has made it clear that the Leafs intend on acquiring a veteran goaltender this summer with James Reimer and Ben Scrivens expected to battle for the back-up role.

So, if not Luongo, which goaltender may the Leafs acquire?

Enter Tomas Vokoun.

The 36-year-old goaltender recentl...

It's still a long shot, but the Islanders have pulled themselves back into playoff conversations with a 1-0 win yesterday over the New Jersey Devils that has put them within five points of the last spot in the Eastern Conference. But even so, there are plenty of questions that surround the New York Islanders hockey club, ranging from the uncertain future of the arena to whether or not Tim Horton's will ever return to the concession stands. The most important questions, the ones that impact the immediate future, are the ones that need to be answered first; GM Garth Snow has to figure out where certain players will fit on his roster as the rebuild pushes forward.

I've already talked about the possibility of Evgeni Nabokov re-signing with the Islanders, as well as teammate P.A. Parenteau returning in an orange and blue sweater. But Snow will have to take a long look at some of his current regulars and decide where they fit with the team long term as some young, fresh faces are pushing for NHL jobs.