Look, I'm gonna level with you people: I don't know new Islanders acquisition, forward Shane Prince, from a hole in the wall. All I can offer is jokes about Prince - aka Prince Rogers Nelson, one of the most visionary musicians of our time - and the following tweets from Arthur Staple of Newsday and team statistician Eric Hornick.
Prince, 23, is 3-9-12 in 42 games for Sens. 61st overall pick in 2011.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) February 29, 2016
New #isles Prince was 2nd leading scorer on 2011-12 67's team-- behind Tyler Toffoli and ahead of Sean Monahan. Petr Mrazek their goalie
— Eric Hornick (@ehornick) February 29, 2016
The price to acquire the 23-year-old Prince (but, again, not Prince) was a third round pick in this year's draft. The Islanders also get Ottawa's seventh rounder this year. That leaves the Islanders with picks in the first, fourth, six and seventh (x2) rounds.
Senators have sent Shane Prince and 7th in 2016 to Islanders for a third in 2016. #TradeCentre
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) February 29, 2016
I'll let garik explain in full what makes Prince (who, for further clarification, isn't Prince) a worthwhile depth addition to the Islanders. Here's a preview:
YESSSSSSSA
— garik16 (@garik16) February 29, 2016
In another late move, the Islanders traded Taylor Beck, acquired from the Leafs in the Michael Grabner deal and last seen taking a dumb ass penalty against Montreal in November, to Colorado for longtime Avalanche farmhand Marc-Andre Cliche.
#Isles also make a minor-league move, sending F Taylor Beck to COL for F Marc-Andre Cliche.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) February 29, 2016
So, uh, that's it?
If you (like me) took a day off from work in anticipation of a crazy trade deadline, you were probably disappointed. Not so much with the Islanders (we'll get to that in a minute), but in the NHL in general.
As of the 3 pm call time, six trades had been completed. The two biggest were Kris Russell going from Calgary to Dallas for way too much and Mikkel Boedker, once rumored to be an Islanders target, going to Colorado for pretty much no reason. After 3, a few trades trickled in including the Islanders deals and Lee Stempniak (New Jersey) and John-Michael Liles (Carolina) going to Boston for a bunch of picks.
Mostly, a lot of UFAs expected to move didn't. Dan Hamhuis reportedly balked at waiving his No Movement Clause to come East to either Pittsburgh or Boston. The Canucks also couldn't move Radim Vrbata. The Leafs held onto P.A. Parenteau, Brad Boyes and Michael Grabner, who were all specifically acquired to be trade bait. And all the Oilers that beat the Islanders last night are still Oilers. Oh, and Jonathan Drouin is still property of the Tampa Bay Lightning. (if any of this changes, we'll update)
So where does this leave the Islanders?
The plan was for depth and that's what the Islanders got. Garth Snow said early on that they wouldn't be dealing UFAs Kyle Okposo or Frans Nielsen, nor would they move Travis Hamonic, nor would they deal their first rounder for a rental. So the idea of small moves to bolster the current line-up wasn't a secret.
That said, Shane Price wasn't the kind of depth anyone was hoping for (except garik, apparently). And what the Islanders will start the playoffs with this year (we hope) is the same team they have now, which is more or less the same team they had to start last year's playoffs.
And it's not a bad team! Just... you know, not an appreciably better team than any of the ones they'll most likely be fighting with very shortly.
So they didn't stand pat, or lose much or gain much. They were just sorta... there. Much like how most of the season has gone.
The new-but-still-mostly-old-look Islanders take the ice next against Vancouver CanUFAcks on Tuesday night.