A couple familiar faces leave, a couple new faces arrive — and so it goes for the Islanders’ reconstruction.
The biggest addition for general manager Garth Snow on the opening of the free-agent market Friday was 30-year-old winger Andrew Ladd, who signed a seven-year, $38.5 million deal, carrying an annual salary-cap hit of $5.5 million. It was followed soon thereafter by the signing of presumed fourth-line winger Jason Chimera, 37, to a two-year, $4.5 million deal.
Ladd is pegged to play next to star center John Tavares, who has lacked a big-time scorer on his wing during his ascension to the ranks of the best in the league.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to play with a team that has such great potential,” Ladd said on a conference call. “The Islanders have high-end, young talent and state-of-the art facilities on Long Island and in Brooklyn, which made this the best choice for me.”
Ladd won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010, as well as one with the Hurricanes in 2006, and returned to Chicago at last season’s trade deadline after four-plus years with the Jets. He has scored more than 20 goals in each of the previous four full seasons and had 18 in the 48-game, lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
He met with new owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin and came away impressed.
“After visiting the area and meeting with coaches and management, it became clear to me and my family that this franchise was the perfect fit for the next seven years,” Ladd said.
The hope is Ladd will fill the offensive void left by the departure of longtime Islanders Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. Okposo, 28, spent a large portion of his career on Tavares’ wing, and he left as an unrestricted free agent to sign a seven-year, $42 million deal with the Sabres. Nielsen, the indelible 32-year-old Danish center who had been the longest-tenured Islander, left to ink a six-year, $31.5 million deal with the Red Wings.
Longtime grinding fourth-line winger Matt Martin also left, inking a four-year deal with the Maple Leafs carrying an annual charge of $2.5 million.
Chimera was brought in to fill the void left by Martin and had no problem with the presumed deterrent of the team playing games at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and practicing out on Long Island, where the players live.
“You know what, I talked to Johnny Boychuk about it — he’s from Edmonton, so I talked to him about it — and he had nothing bad to say,” Chimera said. “You’re playing hockey for a living, so it’s not the worst thing in the world to have different scenarios. Those are just excuses. I think whatever setup you have in the NHL, it’s pretty damn good.”
Chimera called himself “a young 37” and said he feels he hasn’t lost a step with his impressive speed and feels “as confident as ever” after his second career 20-goal season last year. He also brings experience, having played the previous seven seasons with the Capitals and amassing 61 playoff games during that span, including a first-round series against the Islanders two seasons ago that Washington won in seven games.
He still is longing for a Stanley Cup — and that’s what brought him to the Islanders.
“They’re knocking on the door every year, and hopefully I can help get them over the hump,” Chimera said. “I’m one of those guys that wants to win a Stanley Cup pretty badly, so I think it’s going to be a good fit going forward.”
The Islanders also locked up restricted free-agent forward Shane Prince to a two-year deal worth $850,000 per year.