Staple: Isles could be sellers at trade deadline

Last night was very obviously a showcase for Marty Biron, the odd man out in the Islanders' goaltending rotation. The NHL trade deadline is March 3, but the league's Olympic roster freeze begins Friday and runs until the 28th, so general managers around the league are making their final evaluations this week.

Islanders GM Garth Snow is doing the same. But his decisions are not about which piece to add, but which to take away - and it's not only Biron, who did his job well with 24 saves, plus three more in the Isles' 4-3 shootout win.

The Islanders did manage to snap a seven-game losing streak and Biron got to show his face in a real game for the first time in six weeks, to remind the league that he's a viable choice for a team needing depth down the stretch. The Thrashers shipped Kari Lehtonen to the Stars last night, and that may be the start of the goaltender swap meet before the deadline.

"I know I can be a chip for Garth, to get him something and maybe give me a chance to continue my season," said Biron, whose 3-12-2 record is more because of a lack of support than his playing below his usual ability. He sounded like a man who'd played his last game in an Islanders uniform.

"It was a great experience," Biron said. "I can maybe take that and it's going to make me a better player. I can help a lot of teams this season."

So, too, can some other Islanders who could have trade value in the coming days and weeks. Snow indicated his team's performance these last four games before the Olympic break, including last night's win, could determine whether he's shopping only Biron or some other Islanders.

"It's a huge four games for us," Snow said. "We're right there in the playoff race."

Not as right there as they were just a week or so ago. The win moved the Isles to five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, but they are also five points from 14th, with four teams to jump over to get to the postseason. Realism may need to trump hope here.

Andy Sutton's contract is up at the end of this season. So is Richard Park's. And so is Freddy Meyer's. There may not be a tremendous market for Meyer, the undersize defenseman who had a terrific game, tossing his body around and scoring the Isles' first goal.

Park, a good soldier in his fourth season, is a valued commodity in the Isles' dressing room and a selfless player who kills penalties and takes key faceoffs. He's also inexpensive, making $800,000 this season, and will be again in the offseason. It's not so easy to sign a player back after you deal him at the deadline.

Sutton is another case altogether. He's having a very solid season despite the fact that he'll turn 35 next month, and his $3.5-million salary this season (with a $3-million salary-cap charge) will have to go way down for the Isles to sign him for next season.

Snow already has signaled his intent to go younger on the blue line, with Brendan Witt in Bridgeport and Dustin Kohn and Andrew MacDonald playing with the big club. Jack Hillen may be back as soon as after the Olympics, so Sutton could be the most attractive deadline rental for a club needing a physical boost for a playoff run.

"Every game's important if we want to still believe we have a chance to make the playoffs," coach Scott Gordon said.

If not, it may be time to do more than just find a new home for Biron.