Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy relieved rumors are over with after trade to Islanders

UNIONDALE — There may not be a team in the NHL who did more over the summer to address needs and improve themselves as the start the 2014-15 season approaches than the New York Islanders. After filling a hole in net with Jaroslav Halak and adding some depth up front in Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolay Kulemin, general manager Garth Snow had one more trick up his sleeve when he acquired defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy in separate deals on Saturday.

Boychuk and Leddy hit the Nassau Coliseum ice for the first time as Islanders on Monday, happy that the individual salary cap situations of the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively, had come to an end and their futures were a bit clearer.

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“It was a wild process,” said Leddy. “There were rumors for most of the summer. It kind of kept growing and growing more toward the season because Chicago was a little over the cap; so it’s a relief that it’s over and I’m happy to be here.”

“It was hard to leave, but you have to come with an open mind and be positive,” Boychuk said. “I think this is going to be a great team. People shouldn’t take us lightly anymore. They’ve done some good things and I think it’s going to be a good challenge for any team to come in and play us.”

Boychuk will embrace the role of mentor for some of the young Islanders on the blueline. He was the guy to do that in Boston, helping the likes of Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton as they came up.

“I think it’s important for people to feel comfortable where they’re at,” Boychuk said. “It wasn’t easy for me to come into the league when I was 25. I came in and there was one guy on our team who took me under his wing and talked to me a lot, Derek Morris. He would always make me feel comfortable and I respected him for that. I’m trying to do the same thing that he taught me.”

Both said the quick turnaround was made easier knowing there would be another new guy in the room. Also helping are the previous connections the two have with a few of their new teammates. Boychuk reunites with Chad Johnson, who left the Bruins over the summer, and Leddy grew up playing against Aaron Ness, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee in Minnesota.

Head coach Jack Capuano, who found out about the deals via social media, said there’s the possibility the two may be paired together at even strength to start, but that will depend on the health of Lubomir Visnovsky and Calvin de Haan. The Islanders open up Friday night in Carolina.

Snow’s reshaping of the roster has given Capuano the best lineup he’s had to work with since replacing Scott Gordon in Nov. 2010. Playoffs are now an expectation for the Islanders, but the head coach isn’t feeling the heat.

“No, I don’t feel any pressure at all,” Capuano said. “We’ve got a good hockey team here. [If] we play the way that we know how to play, this team’s going to be successful. Our goaltending was good, but I think we’ve improved that. Our defense, we’ve improved it. We’ve got some depth up front.”

“As far as pressure, I don’t believe in pressure.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy