It was easy to love the thought proce s behind the Islanders' preseason trades, and one of them has officially paid off for both the team and the player. The Isles and defenseman Nick Leddy agreed to a seven-year contract extension worth an average$5.5 million annually ($38.5 million total). Dave Winfield Jersey Leddy, 23, could've become an unrestricted free agent in 2017, so he's giving up his Tony Gwynn Jersey first shot at the free market for some long-term security, but will still get a chance at age 31. He'll make $4 million in 2015-16, with his salary gradually increasing to $7 million in the deal's last year, according . Not bad.MORE:The Islanders, meanwhile, lock up a longterm piece that they poached from the cap-strapped Blackhawks before the season. Leddy has eight goals, 17 a sists and outstanding puck-po se sion numbers against solid competition with Wil Myers Jersey partner Johnny Boychuk. Chicago was forced to put him on the block after e sentiallyrunning out of cap space, and the Isles exploited it.In short, Leddybeen exactly what GM Garth Snow hoped he'd be; after years of negotiating the salary cap floor out of nece sity, Snow used that space to import a top pairingfrom Chicago and Boston on the cheap days before the season started. Voila the Isles had Rollie Fingers Jersey what they needed.Mix that with the maturation of some young forwards and the presence of a half-decent goalie in Jaroslav Halak, and you've got the top team in the Metropolitan Division. It's been cool to watch; hoadringfinancial flexibility doesn't always lead to anything tangible. In this case, it has. Snow deserves credit for exploiting Chicago's misfortune, and it has certainly worked out so far.Boychuk, by the way, can become a UFA in the summer. It' Rickey Henderson Jersey ll be interesting to see if Snow moves in a similar direction with him. There are young defensemen potentially on the way, and Leddy, Travis Hamonic and Calvin de Haan have already gotten their extensions.