Even with the offseason addition of marquee defenseman Niklas Lidstrom, there’s no doubt that Zdeno Chara remained a valuable piece of the Islanders’ franchise. So an emerging theme by Chara, saw the Isles make a trade to lessen one of the burden’s he seems to be carrying.
In addition to being the club’s 1b blueliner, Chara has become the Islanders’ default enforcer. And with a record in fights of 11 wins and 2 draws, nobody is disputing that the big guy’s done a dandy job of it. So why would the Isles look to add additional toughness? Coach Lorne Henning spoke on the matter.
“Z’s been a force to be reckoned with, coming to the aid of his teammates when ever anyone is taking liberties with the skilled guys. He’s undefeated in fights, and nobody messes with they guys when he’s out there. However, despite his success, fighting is a risky endeavour, and we can’t afford to lose Chara in the event that he loses in a scrap. He’s much to valuable to be sidelined with a broken hand, or fractured face bone. In the past, we’ve had players like Denis Gauthier, and Stephen Webb, who were there to step up and keep other team’s honest. However both these guys have been traded in the last couple years and it’s been a big void so far this season.”
The Islanders traded for
veteran tough guy Scott Parker, who was moved from the team 2 years ago to the Carolina Hurricanes. Parker (6’4” and 220lbs) has 4 goals, 8 assists and a +7 rating while playing with the defensively deficient Flyers. Parker will ride shotgun on the 4
thline, see some spot PK duty, and hopefully give Chara a break from dropping the gloves.
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