Islanders waive Brendan Witt; SUVs exhale

I do thou see a a former coach or players perhaps swaying some interest and possibly taking a chance just based on Witts experience

I could see this except for the cap hit next year. It’s really a non-starter. Very few teams have the cap room for that kind of overpayment, and the ones that do maintain a lower payroll for a reason.

I’d probably roll with a third rounder

How a 3rd for Biron is absurd, considering his play — or more precisely his lack of play — and the number of goalies out there, is beyond me. I think the escalator condition isn’t a bad idea at all, and protects both teams: “If we gave up/acquired a starter who took us/them on a playoff run, he’s worth x. If we just shuffled a backup, he’s worth x.” Fair enough to me.

hopefully they make some decent FA signings this summer

The comments on TSN can run hot and cold. Anyone in Canada can leave a comment…even kids.
  It ran hot and cold about the Isles opening camp in China too.

there is a difference between a team that is looking to make a deep playoff run like the Nucks picking up a player like Witt who has shown that he simply cannot play NHL-level hockey for anybody and a team like the Islanders who are unlikely to make the playoffs but NEED another able-bodied defenseman out there picking up somebody like Boynton who I suspect has a lot more game left than Witter.

The best and most likely choice would be to trade him for a draft pick.

This isn’t likely. They reportedly — and logically — tried to deal before waiving him.

they safely assumed that no one would be foolish enough to pick him up. They could reduce his cap hit and get him to a point where he might be of some value to the team next year before being traded.

He would have to go through re-entry waivers if h ever came back from Bridgeport. Thats taking a big risk.

I was thinking along similar lines when I was saying that Brendan might “Pull a Sim” (Feb 3, 2010 1:23 PM EST)

Is it possible we’re all over thinking this?

That does haunt me with every post. Could be. Could be conditioning rehab for a hoped return next year; an end-around that buys them a longer stint than a formal conditioning stint would. One thing that’s unclear is who his roster spot is intended for: Jackman’s return, or someone else? When Biron leaves, that opens up another.

He’s a sunk cost at this point, so buying out or risking re-entry waivers or paying him outright are all similar risks.

It only affects the amount of time remaining. Brendan already earned most of the money he was going to earn this season, that money still counts towards the cap floor.

Its funny how many teams talk about fitting people in under the cap but the Isles are one of the few teams who worry about the cap floor lol. Hoenstly though, the cap floor is not a big deal at all. If the Isles were under teh cap floor, the only thing that would happen is the team would STILL ahve to pay the cap minimum, and I believe the difference in money would simply be split among all the other players on the teams roster.

I believe they will regret that but that is my opinion. No doubt they have had a rough season.

“It’s terrible news. It’s terrible news. It’s terrible we couldn’t play better and the coach had to be fired. Hitch put this market on the map. We didn’t really have an identity before he got here.” — Rick Nash

Oh oh. Someone forgot to discuss this with the only guy that counts there LOL.

Biron’s Agent thought he could get him 4.5 Million a year?

I realize Biron fired him, but if I was him I’d change my address and telephone number and even my name!

As has already been explained, apparently all that happens is that the team has to pay an additional amount that takes it up to the minimum and the amount is divided equally among the players.

One thing about the cap: You accumulate expenditures as you go through the season. So even if you removed, say, Brendan Witt now, you aren’t removing $3 million from your cap hit, you’re removing a pro-rated portion since you’ve already paid him through fifty-something games. (It’s more complex than that, but that’s an important point.)

LOL, not like the Isles will get any high end Fa’s any time soon. Wang’s taking the team to China stands out in people’s minds. It doesn’t give oneself a warm fuzzy “ooooh, we are special” feeling. Not when everyone else in hockey continues to say WTF when the Islanders come up in conversations.

That would bring new meaning to “Take My wife and Kids, Please!”