"Jon brings an unmatched work ethic and veteran leadership to our lineup and we're excited to have him back for the upcoming season."
>>Islanders General Manager Garth Snow in the team release
Color me surprised. The contract is a one-year, two-way deal though, so this is a case of some potential continuity and back-up depth for a cheap (again) price.
Sim, you'll recall, was among a handful of veterans mired in discontent during Scott Gordon's first season as coach. (Whether he was in the misunderstood "bad apple" crew -- and whether that matters -- you be the judge.) That led to a late 2008-09 demotion to Bridgeport, followed by a new leaf of sorts in 2009-10, when he played the good soldier and talked anew of doing whatever he could for the team with his 11:39 of ice time per game.
Last season he wasn't used against tough competition and didn't drive the play in a Corsi kind of way, but he was a serviceable bottom-six forward who threw his weight around, went to the net -- seriously, all of our wire photos of Sim have him in the goalie's face -- and agitated when others would not. As noted in our stat season in review, Sim led all Islanders by drawing 13 more penalties than he created.
When considering Sim's now-continuing Islanders tenure, it's hard not to recall his promising training camp in 2007, fresh off a three-year contract and looking to impress -- then immediately derailed by a serious knee injury just two games into that season. No doubt at this point he'll bring an appreciation for how precious NHL jobs are, hopefully another veteran voice in the room.
And if the young wingers angling for jobs beat him out in camp, well that's what the two-way deal is for. It keeps all parties hungry.