Staple: Roloson still an Isles fan

Dwayne Roloson is a happy man these days. He’s playing goalie for a contender in the Lightning, with a real chance to get back to a Stanley Cup for the first time since he lost in the Finals with the Oilers in 2006.

The Lightning visited the Garden last Sunday, and on the occasion of his first trip back to the New York area, Roloson was excited to see what his former team has been up to since he was dealt from the Islanders to Tampa Bay for rookie defenseman Ty Wishart.

“Seeing Grabs , Matt and Johnny all hit that 25-goal mark, it’s great,” Roloson said. “There’s a great group of guys there and they’re going to be a good team. They’ve already shown it.”

Roloson muddled through the 1-17-3 stretch on the Island that cost Scott Gordon his job, then put a few wins together just before being dealt. Entering yesterday, he had played 20 games with each team. His goals-against averages were remarkably similar (2.64 with the Isles, 2.63 with the Lightning) and his save percentage was better with the Isles (.916 to .909).

But what matters, of course, are wins. He’s 12-7-1 with Tampa Bay and was 6-13-1 with the Isles, which includes wins in four of his last five games before the Jan. 1 trade.

Roloson said his agent, Mark Witkin, has not had any talks with Lightning GM Steve Yzerman about a new contract. Roloson will be 42 in October, but Tampa Bay has many very young goaltending prospects and no real veterans.

TRADE DEADLINE WINNERS AND LOSERS

One might say the biggest losers were the fans who root for and follow the usually crazy activity on deadline day, but the entire month of February served as a long deadline, with teams making more “hockey trades” — exchanging talent for talent rather than renting veterans for prospects — than before.

Winners:

KINGS. Los Angeles general manager Dean Lombardi shopped around for a scorer and got one, prying Dustin Penner from the Oilers for a prospect and a first-round pick. L.A. improved and didn’t give up its A-list prospect, Brayden Schenn. The Kings also are on a roll now.

CAPS. Jason Arnott scored the game-winner in his second game with Washington, so giving up two-way center Dave Steckel to rent Arnott already has paid off. Caps need the veteran leadership and presence Arnott provides, plus some blue-line help with the addition of Dennis Wideman from the Panthers.

LEAFS. Brian Burke acted like a fire-seller, trading away Kris Versteeg and Tomas Kaberle before Monday and getting two low first-round picks back, among some other goodies. Toronto has a decent, hard-working squad, and those two picks may equal the first-rounder he dealt away last year for Phil Kessel.

Losers:

PANTHERS. Another rebuild in Sunrise? GM Dale Tallon held on to David Booth and Stephen Weiss, but if the Panthers were headed for the big fire sale, he should have tried to move Tomas Vokoun earlier this season if the roster were being gutted. Also, when making eight deadline deals of regular players, you need more than a few mid-level prospects and a bunch of third-round picks.

THRASHERS. Handed away young forward Niclas Bergfors, one of the keys to the Ilya Kovalchuk deal last year, for rental Radek Dvorak. Swapped good depth forward Rich Peverley for Blake Wheeler, a relative underachiever, and defenseman Mark Stuart, whom Atlanta promptly signed long-term. None of these deals has kept Atlanta from continuing its free fall out of the playoff picture.