In the "This isn't working. Wanna swap problems?" department, the Islanders and Hurricanes consummated a trade of minor leaguers: Rob Hennigar for Bobby Hughes, Carolina's 2006 4th-rounder (#123). Hennigar, who split time between AHL Bridgeport and ECHL Utah, is a UFA next year. Hughes, on his entry-level deal, will be an RFA next summer.
In observing Carolina give up on Hughes, Canes Country says:
After a great junior career at Kingston where he scored 75 goals and had 171 points in his last two seasons, the forward suffered from one set back after another in Albany.
Chris Botta's amusingly concise assessment of non-prospect Hennigar, who is 26:
...a brutally misguided signing in the first place...
So yeah, there's that. We knew Hennigar would not ever factor on the big club, and there's little reason to think Hughes has all that much better of a chance. But he is younger. He is talented (HF profile here). His career has in part been set back by injuries. And he lacks size, which means he'll fall in line with a list of Islanders fringe prospects, among whom you dream of a surprise and hope for at least decent AHL depth.