The Islanders have signed veteran enforcer Chris Simon to a 1-year contract worth $475,000. Total compensation could reach $800k if Simon achieves his "games played" bonus.

Most of us had a strong sense that Simon was going nowhere, given his close and very long-standing ties to Ted Nolan.

Say what you want about Simon's sportsmanship, this is one guy that I'll make room for on my roster.

Every team needs to protect their assets, and Simon is still among the absolute best at this role. Not to mention delivering the body, something Trent Hunter and Brendan Witt could use some help with, now that Sean Hill is no longer on the team. And, Simon's 27 points in 67 games last season were his highest PPG in almost 10 years, no doubt due to the mutual respect and Nolan-Simon familiarity.

Chris still has 5 games remaining in his 25-game suspension for last season's stick incident involving the Rangers' Ryan Hollweg.

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In other (former) Islander news...

Ziggy Palffy has come out of his year-and-a-half retirement, returning home to play in the Slovakian League for Skalica. Best wishes to Ziggy, I loved this guy as an Islander (and during his LA & Pens years too). I'd love to see him return to the NHL (if that's his intention), and hope that his previous injuries don't come back to haunt him.

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