Coach Jack Capuano is confident that newly-acquired Matt Carkner will fit in nicely on the blue line for the Islanders. Carkner signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract over the summer to provide some toughness to the Isles and Capuano believes he will do just that. "Matt was in Binghamton when I was in Bridgeport and we played against him quite a bit and had our battles," Capuano said. "To have that size and grit on our blue line is something we need for sure. He's excited about coming to Long Island and being a part of the Islanders. It's definitely going to give us a boost on the back end."

Matt Carkner's agent was obviously more accurate than the Colorado PR department as Carkner has signed a 3-year contract with the Islanders. What a mess. The Avs announced about an hour ago that Carkner had signed with them. We like the signing of Carkner on the Island. He is a tough honest defenseman who will get more substantial playing time with the Isles than he did in Ottawa. Make him a target in pools that value penalty minutes.

The agents for Matt Carkner say that there is no deal in place as of yet for the defenseman and the Colorado Avalanche. The official twitter site of the Colorado Avalanche announced the signing, so we will wait and see what happens.

The Islanders will be looking to bolster their blueline Sunday and may go after UFA Matt Carkner. The Isles have only four veteran defenseman under contract and may be active in the free agent market which begins at noon Sunday. Other rearguards that may be in on the Islanders' radar are Bryce Salvador and Steve Eminger.

It looks like Matt Carkner will test unrestricted free agency after turning down a one-year contract offer from the Ottawa Senators. The rugged defenseman should attract interest from teams seeking a tough guy on their back end.

Ottawa GM Bryan Murray has spoken with Mark Carkner's agent about a new contract. He spent the majority of the 2011-12 campaign on the sidelines due to a knee issue, but returned to active duty to December and he appeared in four playoff games. Carkner's only value in fantasy leagues is his ability to post penalty minutes, but even if he re-signs with the Senators his role on the club could be limited as a depth defenseman.

Pending unrestricted free agent Matt Carkner would like to remain with the Ottawa Senators, but he has not been contacted by the team yet. "I'm not knocking on anyone's door to get talks started, but I was assuming we would have some communication at some point," said Carkner. "He's working on the younger guys and figuring that kind of thing out, but coming into July, I'm sure there are going to be some talks and I'm very optimistic that something can get done." The tough guy's season was limited to 29 games because of injury, but he still picked up three points and 33 penalty minutes.

Matt Carkner is projected to play Thursday night after missing Ottawa's last two practices. It's unclear what has been bothering the rugged blueliner, but he is slated to play in Game 7 regardless. Carkner has one assist and 21 penalty minutes in four playoff contests versus the Rangers.

Matt Carkner will return from his suspension and re-enter the lineup on Wednesday night in Game 4 versus the New York Rangers. "I'm slated to play tonight so I'll just go out and do what I can do," said Carkner, who was given a one-game ban for his punching attack on New York's Brian Boyle in Game 2. "The last game was a pretty good game, there was still physicality but it was good clean hits. I think that's the way the game is going to be played tonight. I'm excited to get to come back in." It is projected that he will replace Matt Gilroy on the blueline.

Matt Carkner was informed Sunday that he has received a one-game suspension for his actions in a fight with Brian Boyle Saturday. Carkner violently attacked Boyle in an effort to draw him into a fight, but didn't hold back even when it was clear the Ranger wasn't interested in dropping his gloves. He'll be eligible to return for Game Four of the series.