New York Islanders Sign Brad Boyes and Matt Carkner, Farewell P.A. Parenteau

The New York Islanders were busy as free agency officially opened its doors on Sunday, July 1. 

Their first move was to try to replace at least some of the scoring they will lose with P.A. Parenteau by signing former St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres forward, Brad Boyes. He signed for one year at $1 million.

Boyes had some good years with the Blues including a 43-goal season. However, the past few years, Boyes has struggled to find the back of the net. Boyes scored just 23 points last year in 65 games with the Buffalo Sabres. The Islanders are hoping he at least partially regains some of his scoring touch.

The Islanders also bolstered their defense with the signing of Matt Carkner. Carkner's contract is good for three years at $4.5 million. The New York Rangers can't be too thrilled with this signing as now they'll see him a lot more than they would of if he were still with the Ottawa Senators.Carkner was a nuisance during Ottawa's first round matchup with the Rangers. Carkner, not known for his scoring abilities, will add some size and toughness to the Islanders defense which has been lacking.

Finally, the Islanders officially said their goodbyes to P.A. Parenteau when he signed a four-year deal worth $16 million with the Colorado Avalanche. Parenteau had been a significant contributor for the Islanders offense the past couple of seasons scoring 53 and 67 points, respectively.

Parenteau joins a similar situation to that of the Islanders as the Avs have a young core that includes Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene and they hope he can be the boost they need to get them into the playoffs.

The Islanders still have to spend approximately $8 million until they get to the salary cap floor, so you can certainly expect them to make some more moves. Stay tuned.

Christopher Benini is a New York Islanders Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and can be followed here.