Rookie goalie Rick DiPietro was sent down to Bridgeport yesterday with young enforcer Eric Godard, while the Islanders recalled Steve Valiquette from their AHL affiliate for last night’s home game against the Avalanche.
The demotion of the team’s clear-cut goalie of the future could mean that recent trade rumors involving Chris Osgood, who makes $4 million in the final year of his two-year deal with the Islanders, may be just that.
Osgood has been out with a sprained ankle since Jan. 21 and has been spelled sensationally by Garth Snow, who has gone 6-3-1 since that collision with the Rangers’ Bobby Holik.
Making so much money this year, after rejecting a long-term extension from the team last summer, Osgood has become expendable while the team competes well with Snow in net.
Snow was coming off his first shutout of the year Wednesday in San Jose and has emerged as one of the team’s fiercest competitors, making a trade involving Osgood all the more likely.
The Islanders remain committed to a strict budget with a payroll at $42 million, but including Osgood in a deal for someone like Ziggy Palffy or another high-priced scoring wing could offset some of the cost for owner Charles Wang.
Valiquette’s promotion, however brief, means that the Isles are comfortable with yet another goalie in the system to bring up. He was expected to back up Snow last night with Osgood still at least five days away from returning, according to Peter Laviolette. A veteran of six NHL games with the Islanders, Valiquette was 10-8-1 in 20 games with Bridgeport with a shutout and .916 save percentage.
With the March 11 trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Islanders are poised to make a deal to tinker with their lineup, though if the price is too steep – as GM Mike Milbury has said they are right now – they are just as determined to stand pat with what they have.
“Our team has a chance of winning if we play our brand of hockey,” Laviolette said. “Which pretty much puts work ethic first and banging bodies and crashing the net.”
The Islanders are home for three of the next four games before playing only four the entire month of March at the Coliseum.
“I think if we can bear down like we have in the past, just play a simple game on the road, we can have good things happen,” Shawn Bates said.