Witt signs extension with Islanders

From Greg Logan of Newsday:

It doesn’t exactly fit in with the Islanders’ youth movement, but for those who value team toughness, it should come as good news that general manager Garth Snow has rewarded 33-year-old defenseman Brendan Witt with a two-year contract extension worth $6 million. Terms of the deal were disclosed Tuesday night.

Read the entire entry from On the Islanders Beat here.

Witt is now locked in for the next three years at $8.5 million total. That is a respectable number for a solid stay-at-home defenseman with strong leadership skills. While Witt is not part of the youth movement on the Island, he will set a good example for the young players on the roster.

NHL Morning Papers (Sunday Edition)

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• With their 2-1 overtime win over the Lightning last night, the Thrashers are back to .500 and now tied for first place with Carolina in the Southeast Division standings. Meanwhile, Don Waddell wants people to understand he is still attempting to sign Marian Hossa and not trade him.
• The Bruins blew not one, not two, but three leads last night in their 6-3 home loss to the Panthers. Here is Kevin Paul Dupont's usual Sunday gem of a column.
• Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said his team was playing stupid not scared on Friday night and he made sure his team was aware of that yesterday at practice. In good news, the Sabres are getting Tim Connolly back in the line-up tonight; however, he is replacing Drew Stafford who sustained an ankle sprain on Friday.
• Whether they deserve to be or not, the Hurricanes remain in first place after their 6-1 road loss at New Jersey. Meanwhile, Luke Decock of the News Observer suggests the NHL give out an end of season award to the best defensive defenseman in the NHL.
• After shutting out the Flyers yesterday for the second time in ten days, Larry Brooks of the NY Post wonders if Steve Valiquette will start for the Rangers today when they take on the Capitals. Brooks also wonders if it is time to say goodbye to the Jaromir Jagr era in New York after this season. John Dellapina of the NY Daily News lists five things he thinks must happen for the Rangers to resemble the conference favorite they were supposed to be prior to the season.
• Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer thinks the Flyers should pass on re-signing Peter Forsberg.
• Evgeni Malkin put on a show for the fans of Pittsburgh and his parents yesterday with a three point game in leading the Pens to a 4-2 win over the Kings. The Penguins are geared up to end their 0-4 streak against the Flyers when the two teams face-off this afternoon.
• The Capitals will be looking to improve their struggling powerplay today as they take on the Rangers, writes Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.
• With a 6-3 victory over the Bruins last night, the Panthers have now scored eighteen goals in their past three games. The streaking Panthers are expecting a couple of their injured regulars to return to the line-up in the not-so distant future.
• Yesterday was a nightmare for Cristobal Huet and the Habs, writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. Hickey then speculates on possible Senators rumors prior to the trade deadline.
• The Devils handily defeated the Hurricanes 6-1 yesterday but the entire spotlight was on Johnny Oduya who scored a highlight goal from end-to-end last night.
• The Islanders continued their free-fall last night with a 4-3 overtime loss at Minnesota, writes Greg Logan of Newsday.
• The Senators proved the Habs have a ways to go to reach first place in the Northwest Division, writes Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen. Don Brennan tells fans not to question Wade Redden's heart when it comes to the Ottawa Senators. Here are Bruce Garrioch's usual Sunday rumors.
• The Bolts were disappointed to not get the two points last night, but they did gain five of six points on their three-game road trip and are looking at the positives, writes Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
• The Leafs surprisingly defeated the powerful Red Wings 3-2 last night, confusing all hockey fans around North America. For all that has gone wrong with the Buds this season, Damien Cox sees a big positive in between the pipes for the team.

I'm running late and don't have time to post the Western Conference morning papers. The usual format will return bright and early tomorrow morning. Have a great Sunday.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com