For New York Islander fans, draft day seems to be the most hotly anticipated date on the calendar year after year. The team's lone playoff berth a year ago changed that cycle for a bit, but after a poor season in 2013-14, draft day became the team's biggest conversation yet again as the playoffs got underway. The discussions regarding draft day usually center on what new star the team would acquire and whether that youngster would help them four or five years down the line. The next season is usually looked at hopefully, but that hope doesn't always come with confidence. 

That all seemingly changed on Thursday when it was announced that general manager Garth Snow had acquired the rights to sign impending UFA goaltender Jaroslav Halak from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a fourth round draft pick that the team had acquired in a deal that brought Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Peter Regin to the Chicago Blackhawks.

During the 2013 playoffs, it became clear that goalie Evgeni Nabokov, 38, was no longer the answer. Snow reportedly made attempts to land a younger keeper but when he failed, he rolled the dice on Snow and prospects Kevin Poulin and Anders Nillson. The plan unfortunately backfired in the worst of ways as the Isles wound up with the second-worst save percentage in the entire league; Nabokov had the 54th best save percentage in the league while Nilsson and Poulin were 65th and 69th respectively out of 75 goalies.

Enter Halak who had a solid year with a .917 save percentage in 40 games for St. Louis and a .930 save percentage during a 12-game stint with the Washington Capitals. His career save percentage is .918. Halak's worst season thus far took place in 2012-13 when he only stopped 89.9 percent of the shots he faced; he only played 16 games that year due to injury. According to Sportnet, "among NHL goalies with at least 200 games played dating back to 2009, the Czech sits third with a .919 - trailing only Henrik Lundqvist and Tim Thomas over that period."

When was the last time the Islanders had goaltending that good?

Back in 2010-11, Al Montoya stopped 92.1 percent of the shots he faced over a small sample size of 21 games; of course he has since regressed. Dwayne Roloson had a .916 save percentage in 20 games that year while Poulin recorded a .924 save percentage in just 10 games. But how about a goaltender pulling off solid save percentages for a lengthy stretch? In 2006-07, Rick DiPietro stopped 91.9 percent of the shots he faced over 62 games. Of course everyone knows how DiPietro's career wound up in following years.

Halak also still needs to be signed and it is likely that he is seeking a long-term deal. He was previously signed for four years and $15 million with the Blues and is likely looking for a significant raise. Expect the Islanders to try to give him somewhere around five years and $25 million or more. According to early reports, he has interest in joining the Islanders.

The addition of Halak, while wonderful, has its risks and potential problems. Any goaltender is susceptible to injuries (the Islanders certainly know about that) and Halak is no exception. The netminder has never managed to play more than 57 games in an entire season due to injury. If Halak is injured and the Islanders do not have a viable backup, then the team could be doomed to fail as it did in 2013-14.

At 28 (soon to be 29 on May 13), Halak would be in his early 30s by the end of the contract if he signed a five-year deal. Statistics suggest that goaltenders start to decline during those years and Halak could be a mediocre keeper during the end of that contract.

The addition of Halak could also potentially mean the end of Snow's pursuit of a goalie like James Reimer. Reimer is reportedly unhappy with the Toronto Maple Leafs and may be looking for a place where he can be the No. 1 goalie. If Snow traded for Halak this early before the July 1 free agency window opens, then it shows that he has the intention of signing him to be the starter for the Islanders. Reimer would not be content to join a team where he would be the backup and Halak would likely be unhappy knowing that he would have to compete for the starting position.

The bigger issue here is not whether Snow stops going after Reimer so much as it could indicate that he might bring back Evgeni Nabokov as the backup. There are certainly other options on the UFA market such as Brian Elliott, Thomas Greiss and Justin Peters, but Snow might end up going with someone he is already comfortable with if only to help Halak adjust to the atmosphere in the room. While some might be content to see Nabokov play a few games here and there, his statistics show that the 38-year-old is clearly on the decline and may be more of a detriment to the Islanders. Nabokov's save percentage has dropped in each one of the last four seasons and it is likely that he may stop less than 90 percent of the shots he faces next season. And even more problematic still -- if Halak goes down, does everyone really want Nabokov to take over the workload?

This is all circumstantial and Snow could still address the backup situation. For now the Halak deal looks like a nice move (assuming he signs with the Islanders), but it comes with major risks.