NY Islanders make surprising signing to bolster blueline before start of season

After a full training camp and four preseason games, Mathieu Darche, Pete DeBoer and the New York Islanders apparently decided the answer to their seventh defenseman spot wasn't already in the building.

At least not yet.

The Islanders announced Sunday that they signed 28-year-old defenseman Logan Stanley to a one-year contract, going outside the organization rather than handing the job to Isaiah George or Matthew Kessel. The deal is reportedly worth $1.5M.

George had an opportunity to make a case throughout camp, while Kessel entered as another logical option for the extra defenseman role. But instead of simply keeping one of them around, general manager Mathieu Darche added a veteran with 278 games of NHL experience.

Stanley also isn't coming off a throwaway season.

The 6-foot-7, 231-pound defenseman set career highs with nine goals, 17 assists and 26 points in 76 games split between the Winnipeg Jets and Buffalo Sabres last season. He averaged a career-best 17:12 in 59 games with Winnipeg before being traded to Buffalo in March.

Originally selected 18th overall by Winnipeg in the 2016 NHL Draft, Stanley has 14 goals and 62 points over his NHL career, along with a plus-29 rating. He has also appeared in 25 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

For the Islanders, the signing adds size, experience and another left-handed defenseman to the mix just as the roster is being finalized. More importantly, it provides a pretty clear indication that neither George nor Kessel did enough during camp to make the Islanders completely comfortable with their depth.

That doesn't mean either player is out of the organization's plans. George, in particular, remains a young defenseman with room to develop.

But training camp was their opportunity to make the decision easy.

Instead, the Islanders kept looking.

And on Sunday, they found their answer somewhere else.

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