Time for me to make some friends here; Trent Hunter has to go!!!!

I understand your points, but Hunter is not going anywhere and it’s not because of his play. It’s because of his contract. Hunter is signed for three more seasons (through 2013) at roughly 2 Mil a piece. In order for the Islanders to trade him, they would need to take on a onerous a contract as Hunter’s. A 3rd would be a miracle of sainthood proportions if Snow was able to get that return. Even with all the player movement we’ve seen in the past two weeks, they were still matching contracts going either way. In today’s NHL it is difficult to find a taker for the long term commitment Hunter would be without taking on as bad a contract in return.

And on Bergenheim, while he may never be the scorer he was touted to be when drafted, he is a very good all around player. He is an aggressive fore-checker, terrific penalty killer and one of those grinder types you need on a team. He has become a stereotypical Finnish forward, not flashy or outstanding offensively but a good, all around player. I wouldn’t say my defense of Bergie is “Stockholm Syndrom” but an appreciation of all that he brings to this team.

In order for the Islanders to trade him, they would need to take on a onerous a contract as Hunter’s.

The thing is, Hunters contract is not “onerous.” When something is onerous it is burdensome, oppressive, troublesome; causes hardship. Trent Hunters contract does not do any of that. There are a number of teams who would trade for Hunter, but I dont think the Isles would want to trade him.

Problem is we really don’t have anyone on the RW. Even in BP the RW is thin.

That Hunter has never played on a line with a solid center. On a different team, he could easily be a 20 goal + scorer…especially if he gets back to getting dirty. I do agree, and said so a couple of days ago that he is the most likely candidate to go because he is cheap, reliable, and kind of a playoff guy who will get to the net and hit. I think given the picks that teams have traded for worse players, we could get a 2nd round for him…sprinkle in some Tambellini and maybe a first, who knows. I think him to Detroit or Chicago or even Montreal who has no size.

Few thoughts on the post and assorted comments:

1) His contract and possible decline really isn’t a burden for the Islanders. $2 million is not an obstacle for a team that needs bonuses just to reach the cap floor. It could be an issue for a cap-pushing acquiring team, but at that pay level there’s a lot more flexibility in what could come back in return.

2) His decline may be there in a production and (sadly) hitting sense but he is not a Witt type because of a very key difference: He doesn’t hurt the team defensively. He’s still one of their most responsible forwards. Some of that is the bonus you get for playing with defensive-minded Frans Nielsen, but still: Hunter doesn’t bleed minuses like some of his attempted replacements do. I suspect he’s kept and trusted by coaches because he doesn’t wander off the reservation.

I agree he’s been perimeter-ish lately, which is alarming. Not sure if that’s from yet another injury (which you could argue further encourages a trade before his power-forward body suffers decline) or what. If they got a decent offer, I’d take it. He has a good shot and a responsible game that could help a team. I just don’t see him as a big burden either way, and at the moment I do wonder about who refills the depth at RW.

One more thing on the contract: They bought this arrangement when they signed him. He got long-term security, they got a rate that was cheaper than what he would have been able to get on the open market at the time. I’m not bothered by his salary right now, as it’s just how they spread out the price of a guy they saw as a character player then and now.

I bet the way to really “make some friends here” will be a few years down the line, when we start doing the soul-searching questions of “Maybe Okposo and Tavares and [insert blooming defenseman] can’t carry us all the way against [insert deep teams with good checkers].” That will be fun; though standing here today it sounds like an enviable problem.

someone needs to tell old Trenty-Boy that slapshots from the blueline with nobody in front of the net dont count for extra goals.. get to the net nancy.

Trade Hunter for a bag of pucks give Joensuu his minutes and bring up a young gunner to try and provide a spark to this club. Matt Martin is doing what Trent Hunter should be doing playing the body and opening up space for the scorers and he is actually getting to the “Dirty areas” something Hunter hasn’t done consitantly in years

Hunter is not good. Also, his skating should be classified as a war crime under established principles of international law.

The first thing I do in every new EA NHL video game is trade Hunter. (I should note that Sutton is shockingly good in the latest version, which accounts for some of my diminished hatred towards him.)

yup he definitely is slumping.
But to pick him out on this team and say that he is the one who has to go? I just dont see it. Like, at all.