Thirty-six-year-old right wing Bill Guerin is an Islander, signing a two-year deal worth $9 million. While Newsday’s Greg Logan calls it “a major step toward recovering from their losses in the free agent market,” Logan’s colleague Steve Zipay is somewhat less generous. Says Zipay:

Isles, by the way, will pay $9 million, yep, $9 million mazzonies, over two years to Bill Guerin, a good soul, a born-in-the-USA vet, but let’s be honest, he’s 36 years old, made $2 mil last year on a one-season pact and vanished in San Jose after being shipped from St. Loo….

I don’t blame Guerin. Hey, Ruslan Fedotenko got $2.9 mil….

Together, that’s $7.4m in Isles’ crazy money next season…

As was the case with Dainius Zubrus’s contract in Jersey, the Isles will likely readily admit that they had to overpay to save some face here. The money, however, could well pay off, as Long Island suddenly becomes a lot more attractive with a player of Bill Guerin’s credibility onboard. Case in point: Mike Comrie, who may not have been insterested in the Islanders’ money without the knowledge that Guerin would be on his wing. With Guerin in the fold, the Isles were able to move quickly to lock up Comrie as well, signing the pivot to a 1-year, $3.375 million deal.