This is staggering. If you hadn’t heard, New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro got a 15-year deal from the Isles yesterday. Why he got a 15-year deal, I have no idea. DiPietro, I’m sure, has no idea. His agent probably has no idea. But when the Islanders presented them with the other, they probably glanced at each other and scribbed his name on it as quickly as they possibly could.

15 years, $4.5 million a year. Would he have not signed the same deal for five years? Hell, make it ten. I just can’t understand what made the Islanders feel like this was necessary. DiPietro and his agent couldn’t have gone to the Islanders with a contract demand more outrageous than what actually transpired. At some point, there was a failure on the side of the Islanders to understand the negotiation process.

The NHL and the players union hammered out a deal that would protect franchises from overspending, and keep salaries in a reasonable place. My hearty congratulations go out to the Islanders for finding a way to shoot themselves in the foot anyway. It wasn’t easy, and there were obstacles in place, but you found a way, guys. Incredible determination, all of you.

This is, by the way, the same team that just hired their backup goalie to be their GM. And people are pointing the finger at Garth Snow, but I really don’t think he had a lot to do with it. It sounds like owner Charles Wang was the guy behind this.

“This is not a big deal,” owner Charles Wang said. “You have to have a commitment to who you’re working with. I’ve done this all my business career. Now I’m doing it in sports and everybody is like, ‘Oh my God. How could he do that?”‘

Well, not to be redundant, but how could you? DiPietro will be making $4.5 million per year. Observe:

Nikolai Khabibulin is the highest paid goaltender in the NHL at $6.75 million per year. Roberto Luongo makes $6 million a year, Marty Turco the same, Jose Theodore makes $5.75 mil, Olaf Kolzig $5.45 mil, Marty Broduer $5.2 mil, and Evgeni Nabokov an even $5 million. That’s 7 goalies who make more than DiPietro will be making. Meanwhile, there were 25 goalies in the NHL with better save percentages than DiPietro last year, and 31 goalies with better goals against averages.

So not only is it well above market value per year, it’s also at a completely absurd length. I apologize for the headline, even Isiah Thomas thinks this deal is screwy. Unless DiPietro has pictures of Wang molesting an endangered sea otter, this doesn’t make sense on any level.