The New York Islanders signed a goaltender to a long-term deal, signifying their expectation that they will be better next season. Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 36 Herr . Numbers Game looks at the Islanders securing the services of Jaroslav Halak. The Islanders Get: G Jaroslav Halak. Halak, 29, was going to be one of the best free agent goaltenders available this summer when the Islanders made a pre-emptive move to acquire him from Washington. While there are ups-and-down in Halaks game from year to year, over the past five years, he has the third-best save percentage among goaltenders with at least 200 games played. Over the same time period, Halak has a .927 save percentage during 5-on-5 play, which puts him in pretty good company. As noted, there have been ups and downs in Halaks performance, with the worst of the downs his 2012-2013 season -- an injury-plagued season in which he finished with an .899 save percentage in 16 games. In every other season, since 2008-2009, Halaks save percentage has ranged from .910 to .926, so there is a good chance that he can provide above-average goaltending for the Islanders and that would represent a significant upgrade. Using Hockey References Goals Saved Above Average, for example, Halak has saved approximately 42 goals above average over the past five years and will effectively be replacing Evgeni Nabokov, who is 11.51 goals above average over those same five years (one of which was spent in Russia), so just on average over those seasons, Halak would provide a five-to-six goal difference and factoring in that Nabokov is 38 and Halak is 29, its clear that Halak is likely to have superior numbers over the next four seasons. Halak signed for four years and $18-million, which is entirely reasonable for a starting goaltender. His cap hit of $4.5-million ranks 15th among goaltenders already signed for next season. The decision to sign Halak and, on the same day, announce that they would be keeping this years first-round pick (meaning that the Islanders 2015 first-round pick goes to Buffalo) is a clear indication that the Islanders expect to rebound from this down season and, believe it or not, thats a perfectly reasonable decision. They finished 19th in Fenwick Close (unblocked 5-on-5 shot attempts, within one goal in first two periods, tied in third), which is a good measure for puck possession and did so with several notable injuries and players departing via trade, so its fair to think that the Islanders can be a middle of the pack club, with goaltending offering the chance to be a bit above average or, if it goes wrong again, below average. Those expectations will put Halak in the spotlight, but his track record is strong enough to justify the Islanders investment. The Capitals Get: A fourth-round pick. While Halak played well for Washington, after coming over in trade from St. Louis, posting a .930 save percentage in a dozen games, its also not a surprise that Washington might not be inclined to keep him long-term. After all, the Capitals already have Braden Holtby, who has a .919 save percentage in 105 career games, as well as prospect Philip Grubauer (.924 SV% in 19 GP with Capitals) waiting in the wings, so there wasnt a lot of upside to spending on Halak. Of course, this decision cant entirely ignore the fact that the Capitals dont have a general manager since firing George McPhee. Brian MacLellan made out quite well in the interim, however, securing a fourth-round pick in exchange for negotiatiing rights to an asset that the Capitals apparently didnt intend to keep. There isnt a lot of value to a fourth-round pick, maybe a 15% chance that it turns into an NHL player, but for a player that could provide zero value to Washington next season, thats well-played. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Nike Vapormax Dam Rea . Unfortunately for Toronto, that surge was too much to handle as the Stars scored six straight goals and ended the Marlies season with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Toronto had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Frazer McLaren and Peter Holland, but Texas charged back with a wild rally late in the second period to spark its trip to the Calder Cup final. Nike Air Vapormax Plus Herr .C. -- Eric Staal kept his focus after his apparent breakaway goal was waived off early in the third period. http://www.airvapormaxsverige.com/ . Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire.TORONTO -- Josh Leivo scored a hat trick as the Toronto Marlies downed the Lake Erie Monsters 4-1 on Saturday afternoon in American Hockey League action. Brendan Kozun also scored for the Marlies (34-19-4), who lost to Lake Erie the night before. Christopher Gibson improved to 3-1-1 with Toronto, making 21 saves in the win. Colin Smith scored for the Monsters (24-27-6), while Kent Patterson made 34 saves in the loss. With the win, Toronto improves to 4-3-0 against Lake Erie this season and have won six of their last eight games overall. The loss leaves the Monsters with just two wins in six games. The Marlies forward gave Toronto a 3-1 lead at 12:14, on a power play. Leivo took a feed from Spencer Abbott and beat Patterson five-hole for his 15th of the season and second of the night. Leivo completed the hat trick, giving Toronto a 4-1 lead at 19:11 picking up a loose puck at the side of the net and beating Patterson glove-side for his 16th of the season. Saturday was Leivos second career AHL hat trick with his first coming in a 5-2 win over the Utica Comets Jan. 4. Kozun gave Toronto a 2-1 lead, on a power play, at 9:13 of the second grabbing the bounce off the end boards and beating Patterson for his 17th of the season. Smith opened the scoring at 13:04 of the first beating Gibson glove-sidde for his seventh of the season. Nike Vapormax Billigt. Leivo tied it 1-1, on a power play, at 18:38 picking up the rebound off Greg McKeggs shot, which hit the post, and beating Patterson for his 14th of the season. With the two teams playing one another for a third consecutive game, and the second time in as many nights, tempers were high. Both teams combined for 10 fighting majors and 195 minutes in penalties during Friday nights 3-2 Monsters win. Lake Erie and Toronto combined for 132 penalty minutes and nine fighting majors Saturday. The two clubs meet for the eighth and final time on March 19 in Lake Erie. Toronto hosts the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins Sunday to conclude a three-game, three-night stretch. Notes: With David Clarkson (pulled muscle) questionable for Saturday nights game against the Flyers, the Maple Leafs recalled forward Frazer McLaren from the Marlies. The Marlies signed defenceman Bryce Aneloski to a professional try out contract on Friday. Toronto recalled defenceman Dylan Yeo and goaltender Christopher Gibson from Orlando of the ECHL and reassigned goalie Garret Sparks to the Solar Bears Friday. Gibson is 8-9-2 with a .924 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average in 20 games with Orlando this season. Marlies captain Trevor Smith was a healthy scratch. ' ' '