Islanders acquire lost cause Zednik from Caps

Richard Zednik is changing teams again. TSN is on top of it as usual.

After the Montreal Canadiens dealt him to the Capitals last offseason for a 3rd round pick he has been traded yet again, but this time to the New York Islanders in need of a seasoned veteran with a light offensive touch.

Before Kyle McClaren's controversial hit on Zednik a few years ago, he formed one of the dominant lines in the 2003-2004 NHL playoffs alongside Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev.
He still played well following the hit but you can see the change once the New NHL was born.

The new NHL has seen Zednik go from consistent threatening offensive contributor who would cut to the net all the time, to a player who worries when he's around the net and no longer plays with the same intensity around the net.

Don't get me wrong, Zednik is still a decent pickup by the Islanders, but if they expect to revive his pre-lockout seasons, they're dreaming.

And they did pay a somewhat expensive price for a guy who played mainly on the Caps' 4th line: a second round pick in the upcoming draft. Remember, the bar for trade prices was set by Don Waddell yesterday in his flurry of questionable moves in acquiring Keith Tkachuk and Alexei Zhitinik for the price of a chunk of the franchise's future.

In 32 games, Richard Zednik has 6 goals and 12 assists in a mostly injury plagued 2006-2007 season