The Colorado Avalanche appeared close to signing defenseman Matt Carkner on Sunday shortly after free agency began at 10:00 a.m. MT. The team even went on Twitter to announce that they had agreed to terms with him (the tweet no longer exists as of this writing). However, Carkner apparently had second thoughts about coming to the Mile High City and has decided to head to the New York Islanders for three years, according to Aaron Ward:
Matt Carkner 3 yrs to Isles. #TSN
— Aaron Ward (@aaronward_nhl) July 1, 2012
Carkner has amassed 361 penalty minutes over three-plus season in the NHL, but he has played in just one full season. Back in 2009-10, Carkner played in 81 games, tallied 11 points and had 190 penalty minutes.
All in all, this isn't a huge loss.
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