We’ve covered the existence of Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais, Radek Martinek and Freddy Meyer as near-mortal locks on the Islanders’ blueline and also left room for your Mr. Hillen. Here’s the trio of veteran defensemen that completes them.

MARK STREIT
6-0, 200 pounds, 30 years old
Rating: 3.0
Contract: first year of 4-year deal signed this summer
2008-09 salary: $4.1 million

Scout’s Take: “I had him on my list and my team looked at him but in the end we weren’t willing to give four years at his price after just 3 years in the NHL…The stuff about whether he’s a defenseman or a forward is stupid. He’s an offensive defenseman and he’ll get at least 40 points for the Islanders no matter what style they play…Streit is not the disaster in his own end that Bergeron was for the Islanders, but if I’m the Gordon I’m playing him with Martinek, who has the wheels to get back and cover for him.”

Point Blank: Pals in Montreal say he is a team player and should be a good fit with all the youngsters on defense because he doesn’t act like he invented the game. Still, 4 mill a year for four years is a rich investment, so Snow needs to have gotten this right. Gordon started Streit with Chris Campoli in camp before Chris was injured. It’s not where you start…

ANDY SUTTON
6-6, 245 pounds, 33 years old
Rating: 3.0
CCE: Plus. Gordon will give Andy more minutes.
Contract: second year of 3-year deal signed summer, 2007
2008-09 salary: $3 million

Scout’s Take: “I wasn’t a big fan when he was in Atlanta and thought the Islanders gave him too much last summer. (laughs) Scouts almost always think the other teams overpaid…I thought Sutton was excellent for about six weeks before he had that nasty injury that knocked him out for the year. The Islanders were thin because of all the injuries and Sutton was one of the guys carrying them…He’s a guy that, if he has his best year from start to finish, he can help the Islanders push for a playoff spot.”

Point Blank: I thought Sutton took a little while last season getting comfortable on Long Island and with his new team. Over time, he became tight pals with Rick DiPietro, stepped up his game and – the scout nailed it – he was exceptional before his season-ending injury. Word out of Moncton is Sutton came to camp in phenomenal shape.

BRENDAN WITT
6-2, 220 pounds, 33 years old
Rating: 4.0
CCE: Plus. Witt played well for him, but as you may have heard there was a disconnect between Nolan and a few of his veteran leaders.
Contract: two-year extension begins in ’09-10
2008-09 salary: $3 million

Scout’s Take: “I don’t think I was the only scout who thought maybe all those years of standing in there might have taken a toll, but Witt changed my mind last year. He was on a team that was fighting for, at best, one of the last playoff spots. He could have mailed it in like we’ve seen guys do all the time. But Witt did the opposite and won a ton of respect around the league… Snow made a great move locking him up. Even if Witt slows down that last year, the Islanders got a good deal.”

Point Blank: You’d think Witt wouldn’t have anything left to prove in the NHL after all these years, but he was pretty remarkable last year before the team finally shut him down. It wasn’t even a contract year for the veteran, but he played his nuts off and the team rewarded him with a contract extension in July. He gets pumped to play a Crosby or Ovechkin when I’ve seen other veteran defensemen not want the challenge with young stars because they think they can’t catch up. Some players talk about how they like the team and like it here. Witt backed it up by agreeing to a deal that could have been matched (or surpassed) by a dozen teams next summer.

Next: The blueline prospects closest to primetime and the minor league veterans most likely to be recalled from Bridgeport in a pinch.