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Islanders to buy out Rick DiPietro

Rick Dipietro

New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro (39) looks up at the fans shouting at him after giving up a goal to Alexander Semin in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., Monday, Feb.11, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill)

AP

Rick DiPietro is about to become an ex-Islander.

Arthur Staple of New York Newsday reports the Islanders will place the much-maligned goaltender on $100 waivers tomorrow for the express purpose of using a compliance buyout on him.

GM Garth Snow’s decision to buy out DiPietro will cost the Islanders $1.5 million per year for the next 16 years as he had eight years remaining on his deal, good for a total of $24 million. Seven years ago, DiPietro signed a 15-year, $67.5 million deal with the team, a deal that’s been panned ever since mostly due to DiPietro’s inability to stay healthy.

The Islanders were already in the market for a goaltender this summer and DiPietro never factored into their plans. Last season, he was sent to the AHL after passing through waivers unclaimed. There he found himself embroiled in some controversy after making comments to a local reporter who mistook his sarcasm for truth when he said the treatment by fans made him contemplate suicide.

DiPietro’s 15-year deal has only been matched in length by Ilya Kovalchuk’s deal with the New Jersey Devils. Now he sees his future in doubt and an ugly chapter to his career come to a close. It makes quite the fall from grace for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 NHL Draft.