Matt Carkner

Carkner's value to the Islanders is that he may be their only defenseman capable of moving opposing players from in front of the net. However, poor skating is his achilles heel. Towards the end of last season, Carkner found himself to be a healthy scratch against better offensive teams. Carkner is, at best, a third-pairing defenseman and will play the same role this season, his upside is virtually nil.

Carkner wasn't brought to Long Island to light the lamp, as he has only scored four goals in three NHL seasons, but to add toughness to the defensive unit of the team. Carkner made enemies with the Rangers while playing for Ottawa during last season's playoffs, delivering some questionable hits, so his presence on the Islanders could make life interesting during the six games these teams play against one another. Carkner posted three points in 29 games for the Senators last year.

Carkner enters the 2011-12 season as Ottawa's designated heavyweight. The previous year, he racked up 136 penalty minutes in only 50 games while playing close to 15 minutes a night. One of the best fighters in the game, Carkner is not going to score many points (he had one goal and six assists in 2010-11). With two highly regarded rookie blueliners in Jared Cowen and David Rundblad about to enter the fold, Carkner might have a hard time getting much icetime this year, so his fantasy value is almost non-existent.

Carkner should start the year as part of Ottawa's 3rd defense pairing and offers little fantasy value beyond penalty minutes. He lead the team in fighting majors in 2009-10 and will likely do so again this season.

The rough-and-tumble Carkner will spend the season manning the blueline for the Binghamton Senators of the AHL. In 67 games with the B-Sens last year, Carkner compiled 210 penalty minutes to go along with three goals and 18 assists.

Carkner should spend most of the 2008-09 season in the AHL with the Baby Sens. There is an outside chance that he joins the big club as a forward this year due to his big frame and aggressive style even though he's a defenseman.

Signed as a depth defenseman for Ottawa's AHL affiliate in Binghamton, Carkner will likely spend the entire season down on the farm.

Carkner is a 25-year-old defender who hasn't been able to crack an NHL lineup. He's played five straight seasons in the AHL for Cleveland. In 2005-06, Carkner finished with a career-high 30 points (10,20) with 202 penalty minutes. As a result, he could be a source of penalty minutes for Pittsburgh as an in-season call-up.