"The New York Islanders are clearly entering a summer in which they're going to overcompensate some free agents in order to transition this team from hapless also-ran to playoff contender.

So they sent a 2012 fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for the negotiating rights to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, knowing what it's going to take to sign him — well over $5 million per season on average ... and since it's the Islanders a few dollars above that market value."