UNIONDALE, NY – DECEMBER 21: Cam Fowler #4 of the Anaheim Ducks runs into Eric Boulton #36 of the New York Islanders during the second period of an NHL hockey game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on December 21, 2013 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

The Islanders are wasting a roster spot on Eric Boulton

The New York Islanders have signed 39-year-old enforcer Eric Boulton today, to a one-year contract per the team’s official Twitter account.

Boulton will be entering his 20th season playing pro hockey, which is amazing considering his skill set. He’s an enforcer through-and-through, who has impressively played in 648 career games, scoring just 31 goals. The forward has made his money amassing over 1,400 penalty minutes. He made his NHL debut back in 2000-2001, and has played on only four teams: the Islanders, Thrashers, Devils and Sabres.

The thought process in bringing Boulton back with the Isles is pretty obvious: He’ll protect stars like John Tavares, should a team choose to go after him.

I have no qualms about the Isles giving Boulton a contract as he’s a vet, who’s been with a team for a while. Where Isles fans should take issue is the club giving him a one-way deal and guaranteed money. Players like Boulton are a dime-a-dozen.

Fighting has gone down significantly over the last 10 years. In 2008-09, the league saw an average of 0.60 fights per game, which has decreased to 0.32 in 2014-15. They’re still part of the game, but in a much less frequent capacity. With the decline, enforcers have all but disappeared. It’s very rare a team will put a guy who’s only skill is punching, and doesn’t have any other value, like penalty killing or defensive prowess. Boulton, who doesn’t bring anything else to the table, will be lucky to play 30 games this year, and the Islanders could have saved money and upgraded skill by bringing up a tough guy with skill.

It’s a great story, but there are plenty of young players who deserve roster spots, and it’s sad the Islanders chose to give one of those away to a player who is well past his prime and usefulness.

About Liam McGuire

Social +Staff writer for The Comeback & Awful Announcing. Liammcguirejournalism@gmail.com

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