Whew, I got scared there for a while.

I don’t know how you guys feel about this, but for some reason, I’m always worried when the Isles have a solid player that needs to be resigned. Having lived and survived through the M & M era [Maloney and Milbury, two men ironically not known for their thin candy shells. I guess we can classify them as Peanut M & M’s then] a part me of always gets worried that whatever player is in question, he’ll find a home somewhere else.

Thankfully, that is not the case with Isles winger Trent Hunter, who the team just signed to a one-year deal with a modest raise. My only question is why was it only a one-year deal?

To me, Trent Hunter is the kind of player that you would want to build a team around. With two 20-goal seasons under his belt and still only 27 years old, Hunter still has a huge upside. The only problem Hunter has I would say is his offensive consistency. Last season at the All-Star break, I predicted the guy would have 20-goals and considering the fact that he had eight through the midway point of the season, it was a crazy prediction, but I knew the guy was going to catch fire eventually and thankfully he did.

Playing on a line with Mike Sillinger really brought out the best in his game and he blossomed in every situation he was put in, turning out what I think was a pretty solid season. He also continued to look pretty damn sharp in postseason action, something that the Isles will definitely need in the years to come. Add in the fact that the guy can play on the PK and on the PP and takes the body every night, I don’t understand why the Isles wouldn’t want to lock him up for a three or four year deal. They just signed Campoli to a three-year deal and Campoli still hasn’t cemented his role on the team yet.

I believe Hunter has.

Despite this though, I can see the Isles logic, even if I don’t quite understand it. They want Hunter to go out and continue playing his arse off on every shift and continue to earn his spot. Complacency in young players with high salaries runs rampant throughout every professional sports league and the Isles are contempt on making Hunter the biggest and best lunch paler in the NHL and when the time comes, they’ll give him a salary that keeps him on the Island for the rest of his career.

We can only hope so.

Or I’m going to have to change the banner on this site.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007