Islanders Sign Stephen Gionta, Naturally

The New York Islanders have signed Stephen Gionta to another one-year, two-way deal and expect to have him in the lineup tonight when they visit the Nashville Predators.

That’s really all we need to say about that, as you know all the narratives and opinions of such a move already, they’ve recurred and recycled again and again over the years.

But: Gionta came to camp on a PTO, hung around long enough for Jan Kovar to be cut (which wasn’t very long at all), Tanner Fritz to be demoted, and Casey Cizikas to be hobbled by an unspecified injury.

It’s great news for Gionta, who dealt with injuries last season and now gets to extend his playing career by at least another year with an organization,…