Peter Regin Reigned in by Snow

Mar 3, 2013; Uniondale, NY, USA; New York Islanders center

(91) and Ottawa Senators center

(13) chase the puck during the first period of an NHL game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

[The Following Article is by Contributor KEVIN KOPF]

NEW YORK, NY—Peter Regin was one of three pickups by Garth Snow when the free agency madness insued on July 5th, alongside Pierre-Marc Bouchard (PA Parenteau’s cousin, if I may add), and the signing of Evgeni Nabokov.

The Denmark Native played three seasons for the Ottawa Senators, with an impressive rookie season: 13 G, 16 A , 75 GP. Regin would hit his “sophomore slump,” much like the one Michael Grabner had, at 3 G, 14 A, in 2010-2011, then falling off the map a bit, only tallying 2 goals and 2 assists the year after, and 0 goals and 3 assists in 27 games this year.

So where does Peter Regin fit in? Well, many Isles fans were up in arms over Garth’s actions, or lack of, on the first day of free agency. Pierre-Marc Bouchard was brought in to be the man to fill first-line winger duties, because when someone calls you up and asks you to play alongside John Tavares, you don’t decline.

Peter Regin is most likely the 13^th or 14^th man on the roster, filling in for someone who is a scratch or injured. He is essentially the Marty Reasoner of this year, only better.

Regin is another classic Garth Snow move of low risk, high reward like Brad Boyes and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. The Islanders were never going into the offseason preparing to get a high level floor for two reasons: 1) the Isles are a cap floor team, and Wang doesn’t want to spend too much money. 2) Islander forwards are set already with 14-15 guys competing.

So Isles fans, please relax and also listen to Frans Nielsen, your 2nd line center and fellow Denmark native to Regin, who said of him is one of the most underplayed and underestimated players in the league. So give him and the Isles a chance, there’s no reason not to beLIeve after last season.

-Kevin Kopf (@kevinakopf)