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The New York Islanders made a surprise move, re-uniting a pair of linemates with big free agent contracts. Numbers Game looks into the Islanders getting Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin. The Islanders Get: C Mikhail Grabovski and LW Nikolai Kulemin. Grabovski, 30, has been a productive centre, scoring 160 points in 261 games over the past four seasons, which ranks 98th among NHL forwards. While that alone is a decent indication of Grabovskis ability to contribute as a second-line centre, hes put up terrific relative possession numbers in four of the last five seasons, the only exception being in 2012-2013 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, when he was effectively buried in a defensive role. That led to his being bought out by the Maple Leafs in one of the more ridiculous decisions in the history of NHL contract buyouts. One year after he was bought out by the Maple Leafs and could only drum up enough interest to secure a one-year, $3-million deal as a free agent, Grabovski signed for four years and $20-million with the Isles. Going to the Islanders should offer Grabovski an opportunity to get favourable matchups, with zone starts tilted towards the offensive zone and softer opposition while opponents send their best at John Tavares line and the Islanders put Frans Nielsens line out for the toughest defensive assignments. Grabovski has scored 20 or more goals three times and topped 50 points twice. His career points per game of 0.59 works out to 48 points over an 82-game schedule, so maybe something around a 50-point season is the best-case scenario, but if Grabovski can put up between 40 and 50 points with typically strong possession stats over the course of his contract, he will be a solid addition for the Islanders. Grabovskis departure from Washington leaves a hole at second-line centre, one that still needs to be filled, unless Marcus Johansson or Evgeny Kuznetsov fit into that spot. Kulemin is a 27-year-old winger who scored 30 goals and 57 points riding shotgun with Grabovski for the Maple Leafs in 2010-2011, but has failed to generate much offence since, scoring 23 goals and 71 points in 188 games. But, to be fair, Kulemin has been stuck in a defensive role for the past couple seasons, with primarily defensive zone starts against quality opposition. While Kulemin hasnt scored a bunch in the NHL, particularly recently, hes produced enough to believe that there is more offence to be uncovered. He has 11 points in 20 games for Russia at the past two World Championships and 38 points in 36 KHL games while playing alongside Evgeni Malkin, so its not like Kulemin cant find his way around the offensive zone, but he likely needs a centre that will be the creator offensively. With the expectation that Kulemin will skate with Grabovski, he too should benefit from more offensive zone starts and favourable matchups. Maybe that results in Kulemin scoring 35-to-40 points (that 57-point season in 2010-2011 sure appears to be an aberration) and if that comes with solid two-way play then, even at his lofty price, Kulemin can be a worthy acquisition for the Isles. Toronto didnt seem to be in position to pay Kulemin, and they shouldnt have, based on how he was being used. Wingers that are deployed like Kulemin dont tend to get paid. Kulemins contract also runs for four years, paying him $16.75-million, which is a lot given his recent production, but if he gets more of an offensive opportunity, Kulemin has a decent shot at producing enough offensively to justify that price, which is fair for a second-line winger. All in all, this is an aggressive move by the Islanders and suddenly gives them terrific depth up front. So much that they likely need to find room on the wing for young guns like Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome, but its an enviable problem to have so much talent that some of your centres need to find room to play on the wing. Their defence can still get better, but these signings put the Islanders into the mix among playoff contenders for next season. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Jordan 1 Australia . - Jordan Addesis shootout goal helped the Plymouth Whalers to a 3-2 win over the Sault Ste. Discount Air Jordan 1 Australia . Now, the hottest team on the ATP are pointing their sights on qualifying for the eight-team season finals in London next November. Pospisil has now established the year-end World Tour Finals as the benchmark for a breakthrough season, with Pospisil and Sock provisionally standing ninth. http://www.cheapairjordan1australia.com/.C. Lions signed cornerback Dante Marsh to a contract extension on Friay and released receiver Paris Jackson. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Australia . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. Air Jordan 1 Outlet Australia .Brooks, a three-year veteran, was slow to get up after suffering the injury during a 5-yard run by Arian Foster.Brooks limped off the field midway through the quarter and then slowly walked to the locker room a few minutes later.NEW YORK -- Max Scherzer did most everything on the mound this season -- led the majors in wins, started the All-Star game, helped put his team in the playoffs. Now, the newly minted AL Cy Young Award winner said he will "wait and see" whether hes returning to the Detroit Tigers next year. Scherzer went 21-3 and was an easy pick Wednesday as the American Leagues top pitcher, drawing 28 of 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL Cy Young Award for the second time in three seasons, coming within one vote of a unanimous selection. Scherzer -- like Kershaw -- can become a free agent after the 2014 season, and the Tigers are trying to figure out if they can afford him along with all their other stars such as Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander. Thats prompted talk they might trade Scherzer before opening day. "I love it here in Detroit," Scherzer said on a conference call. "Who wouldnt want to be a part of this?" "The business side will take care of itself," he said. "It really depends on what Detroit wants to do." Scherzer and agent Scott Boras said theyre open to talking to the Tigers about an extension. Scherzer lost only three times this season and was the lone 20-game winner in baseball. He ranked second in the majors with 240 strikeouts and was fifth in the AL with a 2.90 ERA. The 29-year-old righty smiled and raised both arms Wednesday when the Cy Young results were announced. "Its unbelievable. It just vindicates everything Ive done," Scherzer said, acknowledging all the run support he received from Detroits powerful lineup probably helped his candidacy. "Ive been working so hard all these years to get better and better," he added. "I think I took a big step forward in 2013." Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers was second, marking the highest finish by a Japanese-born pitcher in Cy Young voting. Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners came in third. "It was an honour to be a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award," Darvish said in a statement. "Both Max Scherzer and Hisashi Iwakuma had tremendous seasons. Max is a very deserving winner." Texas is the only AL team thats never won a Cy Young Award. Before Darvish and Iwakuma, the highest Cy Young finishes for Japanese pitchers had been fourth place, by Hideo Nomo in the NL in 1995 and 1996, and by Daisuke Matsuzaka in the AL in 2008. "It is such an honour to be one of the finalists for the best awaard as a pitcher," Iwakuma said in a statement before the voting totals were released.dddddddddddd. "I had never thought I would become a finalist here in the U.S., so this is very special to me and is a big surprise." Scherzer won his first 13 decisions of the season and made the All-Star team for the first time. He helped pitch the Tigers to their third straight AL Central title, joined in a deep rotation by Verlander, the 2011 AL Cy Young Award winner, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister. Scherzer went 16-7 last year, then added a curveball to an impressive repertoire that already included a hard fastball, slider and changeup. He beat Oakland as a starter and in relief during the AL division series, then went 0-1 in two starts against Boston in the AL championship series -- he was pulled both times with the Tigers ahead. Scherzer is distinctive for more than just his record. His eyes are different colours, with the right blue and left brown. Hes also unusual for another reason: Hes made 174 regular-season and post-season starts for Detroit and Arizona, yet has never pitched a complete game. Scherzer threw eight innings on seven occasions this year, and sometimes was taken out with a big lead. His big strikeout totals tend to run up his pitch counts, and he said he wants to be more efficient in the future. And maybe even pitch a complete game. "It is definitely something I want to achieve," he said. "To throw a complete game, you have to have the right context of the game." Darvish led the majors with 277 strikeouts and went 13-9 with a 2.83 ERA. Iwakuma was 14-6 with a 2.66 ERA and 185 strikeouts for the Mariners. Sanchez was fourth and Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox was fifth. They each got a first-place vote. Kershaw won his second prize as the National Leagues best pitcher after posting a 1.83 ERA -- lowest in the majors in 13 years. "This is such a cool thing. I cant even explain what it means to me," he said in an interview on MLB Network. "It really is a huge honour." The 25-year-old lefty with a big-breaking curve drew 29 of 30 first-place votes. Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals was picked first on one ballot and finished second. Kershaw went 16-9 and topped the NL with 232 strikeouts. He also won the Cy Young Award in 2011 and finished second last year to knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Darvish gets a $200,000 bonus and a $1 million raise to $11 million next season. Wainwright gets a $100,000 bonus and Sale gets $60,000 for finishing fifth. The AL and NL Most Valuable Player awards will be presented Thursday. ' ' '