It appears that Bill Guerin’s days with the Islanders are over.
The only action that really matters to the Islanders the rest of the season will happen before Wednesday’s trade deadline and last night, after Guerin skated during warmups before the Isles beat the Sabres 2-0 at the Coliseum, the team captain was pulled from the lineup.
Guerin, 38, had initially wanted to stay on Long Island through the remainder of this season and with a full no-move clause, could have done so. But with the Isles falling to the bottom of the standings, Guerin had become more open to being traded, likely to an Eastern Conference team in playoff contention. He would need to approve any move.
The team only said last night that Guerin was “healthy and not playing.” They expected an announcement from GM Garth Snow today.
After leading the team in goals last year, Guerin had a team-high 16 this season. He will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Though his teammates said they didn’t know what Guerin’s status was, they spoke highly of him.
“He’s been tremendous,” Kyle Okposo said of Guerin, who signed prior to last season.
Guerin’s departure would leave a leadership void on a team that has Doug Weight sidelined for much of the rest of the season. As for Okposo’s potential future as a captain, the 21-year-old said, “Maybe down the road.”
The Isles could be expected to make even more moves, with Weight and Brendan Witt and possible targets.
Last night, Sean Bergenheim (two goals) and Yann Danis (second shutout in three games) helped make up for Guerin’s absence. Guerin had been the only player on the team to play in every game and with him sidelined the Isles were undermanned because they hadn’t called up anyone to take his place.
That was on top of the loss of Witt, who was serving the first game of a five-game suspension for elbowing Toronto’s Niklas Hagman in the head on Thursday.
Isles 2 Sabres 0