Luca Sbisa’s objective in accepting a professional tryout offer to Islanders’ training camp was to earn a contract. The Islanders’ objective in signing the veteran to a one-year, $1.5-million deal was partly to create competition for ice time.
“We want to create competition, that’s probably the starting point,” coach Barry Trotz said on Tuesday. “We obviously felt he could help, I think he’s got close to 500 NHL games. We [the Capitals] played him in the Stanley Cup Final. You can’t play in the Stanley Cup Final unless you bring something to the table.”
The Islanders now have eight defensemen on one-way contracts – the same salary in the NHL or AHL – in training camp, along with veteran Dennis Seidenberg, who played for the team the past two seasons and is on a PTO.