Islanders finally sign Zdeno Chara and Zach Parise to new contracts.

The New York Islanders had reportedly secured the services of both veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara and veteran forward Zach Parise several weeks ago, but up until just a few moments ago neither player was officially a member of the Islanders franchise.

It would seem that finally New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has seen fit to sign both Chara and Parise to their new deals, both of which are contracts that will be very important to monitor as the season goes on. As was somewhat expected both men will earn the league minimum salary on their new deals, a salary of $750,000 over the one year term, but their actual salary cap hits will come in at a higher number than that.

A report from Cap Friendly has revealed that both contracts have significant bonuses attached to them, bonuses that could double the salary for both of the players involved. Cap Friendly has each man coming in at an average annual value of $1.5 million with half of the AAV being represented by performance bonuses for each player.

This is very similar to the contract that Chara signed with the Washington Capitals last season and it demonstrates a willingness on Chara's part to continue betting on himself. Chara appears confident that he will be able to be a valuable piece of the Islanders defense, something that would allow him to hit the target for all of the bonuses linked to his new deal.

The addition of these two veteran players will bring much more than their respective presences on the ice however. While surely having the luxury of experienced veteran players like Parise and Chara at your disposal can help on the score sheet, it is no doubt their intangibles that made them a target for Lou Lamoriello. Both men have served as captains in the National Hockey League, with Chara being a long tenured captain for the Boston Bruins and Parise boasting the same for the Minnesota Wild, and the value those leadership qualities can bring to any NHL organization can not be overstated.

I suspect that this kind of move is also right up the alley of Islanders head coach Barry Trotz and now all that is left is to see how it all plays out during the regular season.