Lubomir Visnovsky Files for Arbitration Against New York Islanders

Arthur Staple of Newsday reported this morning that Lubomir Visnovsky has filed for arbitration against the Islanders with Visnovsky's agent stating that the trade from Anaheim on June 25 violates his no-trade clause.

This is yet another example of players not particularly wanting to play for the Islanders. Veterans tend to desire playing for cup-contending teams, not young rebuilding teams without a certain home in the future.

This is precisely what the Islanders as an organization didn't need right now. This season was looking good up until this point. They addressed some of their holes from last season regarding defense, and Visnovsky was a key part of that. He was precisely what this team needed, despite his age. He's a top defenseman to play along with Streit.

Instead, the team is snubbed again.

To look at this realistically, Visnovsky is in the last year of his contract and even his career perhaps. He's an older player and was apparently tossing up the idea of playing in the KHL. Would you or I really want to move our family across the entire country to go and play for a young team with no guarantee of making the playoffs? Some of you may say yes, but the reality of it is that few players are willing to make that kind of change in the waning years of their careers.

One thing is for certain: The Islanders' offseason is always a drama-filled one. If Visnovsky wins his dispute and remains with Anaheim this season, it puts the Islanders in a tight spot. They absolutely need a player of his caliber up front to fill that void. It was apparent last season and will be apparent next season if he departs

We will see what happens, but this highlights the underlying fact that there isn't a lot of desire from veteran players to come play for the Islanders.