Michal Neuvirth traded to Islanders, no longer sabotaging Sabres’ tank

The last time Michal Neuvirth had a game in which his save percentage was under .900 was Jan. 17, which is a heck of a feat for someone that had the Buffalo Sabres in front of him.

The Sabres clearly had to nip this in the bud if they were going to ensure themselves of either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, so they traded Neuvirth to the New York Islanders for goalie Chad Johnson and a 2016 conditional third-round pick.

But please, do NOT accuse a team that just traded its second starting goalie this season of attempting to tank.

Neuvirth will play backup to the goalie for whom he was traded in March of last year, when he was dealt from the Washington Capitals to the Buffalo Sabres.

It’s good insurance for the Islanders should something happen to Halak. OK, it’s better insurance than what Chad Johnson was giving them.

Johnson will get a chance to play for the Sabres. "You know there's a possiblity to be traded anywhere," he told TSN. "There's opportunity there. For a guy like myself, that's what you want. You want to be a starter. It's a good situation."

And on the Tank?

"I don't know, you play to win. I don't think an organization wants to lose."

Um. Yeah. Uh. Sure.

On the Milbury Scale:

THREE MILBURYS. The Islanders get a capable backup for a guy who wasn’t getting it done and a third. It’s not exactly revenge for the Vanek trade, but a nice move for Garth Snow.

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