When the Islanders signed Mark Streit to a five-year contract, he never had played a full season as a defenseman in the NHL.
With just a few weeks left in the regular season, he’s proven he can play the position and has no regrets about leaving Montreal to sign with the Isles, despite their lowly place in the standings.
“I’m happy with the decision I made,” the Swiss native said following practice yesterday in advance of tonight’s home game against Minnesota. “I had a personal feeling that if I re-signed with Montreal, I’d be in that box as a forward/defenseman/power-play guy, playing 13-14 minutes a game.”
Unlike that role he had in his first three years with the Canadiens, when he split time between the two spots, Streit has played nearly twice as many minutes per game and has been the team’s most effective player.
“I knew I needed to move on in order to make that next step,” Streit said of his signing with the Isles. The fact that they gave him a much richer offer didn’t hurt, either.
But at least this offseason, for the first time in his NHL career after coming over from Switzerland at the advanced age of 26, he’ll know he’s in a role that he’s comfortable with.
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Doug Weight (knee)went through his second straight full practice yesterday and said he expects to play later this week.