Allgemein » Do they have to find a new way moving forward

The New York Islanders signed a goaltender to a long-term deal, signifying their expectation that they will be better next season. Numbers Game looks at the Islanders securing the services of Jaroslav Halak. The Islanders Get: G Jaroslav Halak. Halak, 29, was going to be one of the best free agent goaltenders available this summer when the Islanders made a pre-emptive move to acquire him from Washington. While there are ups-and-down in Halaks game from year to year, over the past five years, he has the third-best save percentage among goaltenders with at least 200 games played. Over the same time period, Halak has a .927 save percentage during 5-on-5 play, which puts him in pretty good company. As noted, there have been ups and downs in Halaks performance, with the worst of the downs his 2012-2013 season -- an injury-plagued season in which he finished with an .899 save percentage in 16 games. In every other season, since 2008-2009, Halaks save percentage has ranged from .910 to .926, so there is a good chance that he can provide above-average goaltending for the Islanders and that would represent a significant upgrade. Using Hockey References Goals Saved Above Average, for example, Halak has saved approximately 42 goals above average over the past five years and will effectively be replacing Evgeni Nabokov, who is 11.51 goals above average over those same five years (one of which was spent in Russia), so just on average over those seasons, Halak would provide a five-to-six goal difference and factoring in that Nabokov is 38 and Halak is 29, its clear that Halak is likely to have superior numbers over the next four seasons. Halak signed for four years and $18-million, which is entirely reasonable for a starting goaltender. His cap hit of $4.5-million ranks 15th among goaltenders already signed for next season. The decision to sign Halak and, on the same day, announce that they would be keeping this years first-round pick (meaning that the Islanders 2015 first-round pick goes to Buffalo) is a clear indication that the Islanders expect to rebound from this down season and, believe it or not, thats a perfectly reasonable decision. They finished 19th in Fenwick Close (unblocked 5-on-5 shot attempts, within one goal in first two periods, tied in third), which is a good measure for puck possession and did so with several notable injuries and players departing via trade, so its fair to think that the Islanders can be a middle of the pack club, with goaltending offering the chance to be a bit above average or, if it goes wrong again, below average. Those expectations will put Halak in the spotlight, but his track record is strong enough to justify the Islanders investment. The Capitals Get: A fourth-round pick. While Halak played well for Washington, after coming over in trade from St. Louis, posting a .930 save percentage in a dozen games, its also not a surprise that Washington might not be inclined to keep him long-term. After all, the Capitals already have Braden Holtby, who has a .919 save percentage in 105 career games, as well as prospect Philip Grubauer (.924 SV% in 19 GP with Capitals) waiting in the wings, so there wasnt a lot of upside to spending on Halak. Of course, this decision cant entirely ignore the fact that the Capitals dont have a general manager since firing George McPhee. Brian MacLellan made out quite well in the interim, however, securing a fourth-round pick in exchange for negotiatiing rights to an asset that the Capitals apparently didnt intend to keep. There isnt a lot of value to a fourth-round pick, maybe a 15% chance that it turns into an NHL player, but for a player that could provide zero value to Washington next season, thats well-played. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Seattle Mariners Pro Shop .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Cheap Mariners Jerseys . That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Seattle Mariners Store . General manager David Poile called signing Ribeiro a great opportunity to add a talented, experienced and creative centre Tuesday when he introduced the veteran at a news conference. Ribeiros contract is worth $1.05 million after being bought out of the final three years of a $22 million contract by the Coyotes recently. Seattle Mariners Shirts . The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction.Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosbergs Spanish GP collision may prove the defining moment for the future of their Mercedes partnership, according to Sky F1s Martin Brundle. The Mercedes team-mates and title rivals crashed out on the opening lap at Barcelona as they battled over the lead after Rosberg overtook pole-sitter Hamilton at the start.Although the pair have tangled on track before, most infamously at the 2014 Belgian GP, Sundays race was the first it has resulted in both drivers dropping out of the race. And Brundle reckons the significance of the incident cannot be underestimated.That vision of those two in the gravel trap at Turn Four on the first lap I think will be the defining moment of this season and possibly the defining moment of where the Mercedes team heads for 2017, said the Sky Sports F1 commentator. Anthony Davidson looks at the collision between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg that wiped bboth Mercedes drivers out of the Spanish GP on lap one.dddddddddddd I think it will be a defining moment because they have to make decisions moving forward. And we have seen with other teams in history - and maybe a little bit with [Max] Verstappen and [Carlos] Sainz at Toro Rosso - can they continue working together those two drivers?Do they have to find a new way moving forward? Is it recoverable? It will be very interesting to see how they react to this afternoon because I think it is a defining moment. Hamilton and Rosberg crash out Watch the incident which saw both Lewis and Nico crash out of the Spanish GP Hamilton and Rosberg have been team-mates at Mercedes since 2013 and their partnership, while delivering the Brackley team back-to-back world championship doubles in 2014 and 2015, has regularly simmered and occasionally boiled over amid exclusive duels for the titles. Rosbergs current contract runs out at the end of the season, but the German has been thought likely to be offered a new deal after winning the opening four races of 2016.Hamilton is in the first season of a new three-year agreement which runs to the end of 2018. Dont miss the F1 Report: Spanish GP on Wednesday night at 8.30pm when Sir Patrick Head and Marc Priestley will join Natalie Pinkham to review events in Barcelon Also See: WATCH: Rosberg and Hamilton crash out The F1 Gossip Column ' ' '