Over the last 48 hours or so the New York Islanders have taken a few steps to address that gap on the blueline that was created by trading Nick Leddy to the Detroit Red Wings.
On Thursday, news broke that the Islanders were going to bring UFA defenseman Erik Gustafsson in on a PTO. And then on Saturday afternoon, the team officially announced that Zdeno Chara was coming back after a 20-year absence since that trade to the Ottawa Senators for Alexei Yashin.
Bringing in both seems to tell us how Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz plan to staff their blueline this season.