Islanders acquire goalie Neuvirth, forward Kennedy

The New York Islanders made two trades leading into the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline on Monday, acquiring goalie Michal Neuvirth from the Buffalo Sabres and forward Tyler Kennedy from the San Jose Sharks.

The Islanders traded goaltender Chad Johnson and a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft for Neuvirth.

"It was shocking. I was enjoying my sushi and one of my teammates told me to look on the TV and I saw it," Neuvirth said. "It was a little bit of a shock but it's a great opportunity to be in the [Stanley Cup Playoffs]."

The Islanders will send their seventh-round pick or the Tampa Bay Lightning's seventh-round pick to the Sharks for Kennedy. If the Islanders win the Stanley Cup and Kennedy plays in at least 50 percent of the games in the Final, the Islanders instead will send the Sharks a third-round pick in the 2016 draft, either their pick or the Vancouver Canucks' pick, whichever is later.

Neuvirth, 26, is 6-17-3 with a 2.99 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in 27 games, including a 2.28 GAA and .938 save percentage in February. He was traded to the Sabres from the Washington Capitals with Rostislav Klesla on March 5, 2014 for goalie Jaroslav Halak and a third-round pick. Neuvirth will back up Halak in New York.

"I always knew I could play at this level and I can be consistent," Neuvirth said. "The guys have been playing in front of me well lately and we got a few wins in the last couple of weeks. I really liked it here in Buffalo, I'm going to miss the teammates but this is a business.

"I think [Jaroslav] and I are going to be a good tandem. Hopefully we're going to go deep in the playoffs. They are a great team with great, skilled players."

Johnson signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract with the Islanders on July 1. He is 8-8-1 with a 3.08 GAA and .889 save percentage in 19 games (17 starts).

Kennedy, 28, has four goals, nine points, 37 hits and 46 penalty minutes in 25 games. Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 99 pick of the 2004 NHL Draft, Kennedy has 84 goals and 194 points in 464 games with the Penguins and Sharks. He had five goals and nine points in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to help the Penguins defeat the Detroit Red Wings in seven games.

Kennedy had career-highs of 21 goals and 45 points with Pittsburgh in 2010-11.

The Islanders also acquired forward Dustin Jeffrey from the Canucks for Cory Conacher.

Jeffrey, 27, leads the Utica Comets, the Canucks' American Hockey League team, with 41 points in 49 games. He played in the NHL last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars.

Conacher, 25, has five points in 15 games with the Islanders but has been in the AHL since December; he has 22 points in 28 games with Bridgeport.

The Islanders also traded minor-league goaltender David Leggio to the Arizona Coyotes for minor-league forward Mark Louis.

Leggio, 30, was 7-13-0 with a 3.93 goals-against average and .861 save percentage in 23 games with Bridgeport. Louis, 27, has three assists and a plus-6 rating in 34 games with Portland, the Coyotes' AHL affiliate.

The Sharks also acquired center Ben Smith from the Chicago Blackhawks for center Andrew Desjardins.