Over the course of the past few years, the Islanders have had a fair degree of difficulty attracting and retaining high-profile free agents. The most recent exodus saw Jason Blake, Ryan Smyth, and Tom Poti (among others) depart for greener pastures, leaving general manager Garth Snow to fill out his lineup with second- and third-tier options.

Two of Snow’s lesser-publicized off-season maneuvers, the acquisitions of forward Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Bryan Berard, are proving to be prescient, providing clear signs that the stillgreen GM, a former netminder), just may have found his true calling.

In the case of Fedotenko, this wouldn’t be the first time he has proven a GM right. Back in the summer of 2002, the GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jay Feaster, consummated a very controversial trade, acquiring Fedotenko in exchange for the third overall pick in the 2002 draft to the Philadelphia Flyers.

But it didn’t take long for the Lightning to begin tapping into Fedotenko’s unrealized potential, and he was one of their most critical contributors during their successful Stanley Cup run in the spring of 2004. Fedotenko tallied 12 goals in 22 playoff games, establishing himself as a capable scoring threat.

The Lightning needed strengthen their defense, though, and Fedotenko left this past summer to sign a one-year deal with the Islanders worth $2.9 million. The maneuver was overshadowed by the acquisitions of new captain Bill Guerin and center Mike Comrie, but it will likely turn out to be just as critical to the team’s success. Snow and head coach Ted Nolan had a clear plan in mind for Fedotenko, giving him a prime spot alongside Guerin and Comrie, and the early results have been nothing short of sensational.

Fedotenko has tallied seven points in his first eight games with the Islanders, providing the perfect complement to Comrie’s playmaking and Guerin’s lethal shot. Fedotenko leads all Isles’ forwards in ice time. But without a doubt, his primary value comes when he plays alongside Guerin and Comrie at even strength and on the power play. The Isles’ only regret may be failing to sign him to a longer-term deal.

Berard has also paid immediate dividends for the Isles, providing a stabilizing presence in the defensive zone. But the primary reason he was signed was to give the offense a kick start, and he has done just that, helping the Isles’ power play click at a league-best 27% rate. He tallied four points in his first five games back with the Islanders, quickly and decisively wresting the power play quarterback’s role from the incumbent Marc-Andre Bergeron, who has been a healthy scratch for the last three games.

The unfortunate victim of an errant high stick in 2000 that effectively cost him the use of his right eye, Berard incredibly remains one of the game’s most dynamic playmakers from the blue line. Dating back to the 2003–04 season, he has averaged 0.72 points per game, a pace that compares favorably with that of top point men Sergei Gonchar (0.80), Nicklas Lidstrom (0.74), and Wade Redden (0.62). And when one considers how much less Berard costs ($725,000) than does that trio of rearguards — even excepting for the fact that he isn’t as accomplished defensively as Lidstrom or Redden — it makes it clear just how much of a bargain he might turn out to be for the Isles.

A groin strain will sideline the oft-injured Berard for approximately 2–4 weeks, perhaps paving the way for Bergeron to earn a second chance. For the Isles, the good news is that due to a bizarre scheduling quirk, they won’t play their next game until Saturday night. Should Bergeron make his expected return to the lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes, it will, in a sense, represent a double shot at redemption for the young blueliner.

Two springs ago, Bergeron was the unlikely goat for the Edmonton Oilers in their dramatic run to the Cup Finals as an eighth seed. In Game One of the Finals against Carolina, Bergeron inadvertently checked Hurricanes forward Andrew Ladd into goaltender Dwayne Roloson. The resulting knee injury knocked Roloson out for the remainder of the playoffs, rendering the clearly rattled Bergeron a non-factor and derailing the Oilers’ storybook season.

The following season, Bergeron struggled in Edmonton, and fans and press alike began losing patience with him. It came as little surprise when he was dealt to the Islanders for unsigned Russian prospect Denis Grebeshkov. His play down the stretch for the Isles was quite good, as he tallied 21 points in just 23 games, while posting an impressive plus-five rating. Though he’s struggled a bit in the early going this year, it’s more likely than not that Bergeron will get back on track under Nolan’s steadying influence.

The surprising Islanders have posted a 5–3 record thus far, proving to be far better on the ice than they appeared on paper. While it’s easy to give deserved credit to the goal-scorers and star goaltender Rick DiPietro, the truth of the matter is that these Islanders are succeeding because they’re playing in the mold of their head coach. Nolan’s work ethic has rubbed off on his team. As long as the Isles keep playing this hard, they are going to be a very dangerous — if improbable — playoff contender.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.