The New York Islanders have re-inked Dennis Seidenberg to a 1-year, $1.25 million deal. In 16-17, Seidenberg scored five goals and 22 points to go with a 25 +/-.
The offseason is officially underway, and general manager Garth Snow has began by re-signing one of the new acquisitions from last summer.
Dennis Seidenberg makes a welcome return to the New York Islanders. Playing mostly with Calvin deHaan last season, the veteran defender helped bring new elements out of deHaan’s game and was easily the most reliable defensive pairing for most of October — December.
[graphiq id=”ka2XGLw7Jzf” title=”Dennis Seidenberg Profile” width=”600″ height=”1075″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/ka2XGLw7Jzf” ]The $250,000 raise was well-earned for the defenseman, tallying some clutch goals in key situations throughout the dreadful Autumn stretch that buried the Islanders. The deHaan-Seidenberg pairing was one of the only highlights of that time-frame.
With Seidenberg back, this raises some questions along the blue line. How will he slot in? Who is he replacing? The answer, quite simply, is whoever is taken in the Vegas draft.
The Seventh Man
With George McPhee (Golden Knights’ GM, former Islanders executive) looming over the league’s top-rated players, teams have had ample time to prepare their moves for the first day of the expansion draft on Jun. 18.
Most draft predictions have Snow exposing defensemen such as deHaan, Thomas Hickey and Ryan Pulock, with Pulock being the most favorable pick of the three. If the Islanders do indeed go down a defenseman then Seidenberg will serve as a catalyst in assisting either Adam Pelech or Scott Mayfield‘s full transition to the NHL.
With an already crammed blue line budding with youth and prospects rapidly making their way up (Devon Toews) it will be interesting to see where Seidenberg does indeed wind up, but ideally he’s at his best when he is the seventh man. 41 games a season would be plentiful for the veteran to see.
Either way, Seidenberg’s return is a welcome addition for the Islanders.
