At 3:00 p.m. today, March 4th, the NHL Trade Deadline will have come and gone. This being said, The final installment of "Trade Value", where readers are given in depth looks at potential trades, is given. For the final installment, we will focus on recently suspended defenseman Brendal Witt.
Brendan Witt has been one of the Islanders most valued players for the past few years. Never afraid to block a shot or get his hands dirty, he may come as one of the Islanders greatest assets.
However, this past season has not been a kind one for Witt. For most of the season, he has a had a +/- rating of at least a dismal -20. He has been quoted criticizing the Islanders new system under rookie head coach Scott Gordon, and his recent 5 game suspension for a questionable elbow may have lowered his stock.
What are the chances Witt will be moved? Probably not good. Witt has recently come out saying that he and coach Gordon have "no problem", and since a sit-down with the coach in January, his game has flourished, with Witt playing more like the shut-down defenseman he has been since coming to the Islanders.
A more likely defnseman for the Islanders to be shipped off would be Radek Martinek, a very similar-style defenseman to Witt, but with a far easier contract to deal (Martinek is making under $1 million this year). The two have a very similar game, and with Martinek's game also being improved this year after an "upper body injury" kept him out early in the year.
Prediction: Witt stays put on the Island, while the Isles ship off Martinek to a playoff contending team for either a mid-round draft pick or a mid to low-level defensive prospect.
No comments:
Post a Comment