Islanders F Thomas Vanek determined to test unrestricted free-agency

On Monday, New York Islanders forward Thomas Vanek discussed the seeming inevitability of his being traded for a second time this season. Vanek also touched on his decision to turn down a lucrative extension offer from the New York Islanders earlier this season, and was surprisingly frank and introspective about his situation as it stands. 

"It just came to a point where I felt, 'OK, I want to test the free agent market, most likely,'" Vanek told NHL.com's Brian Compton. "But that doesn't mean the Islanders wouldn't be one of my teams at that time."

Vanek was asked by Compton if he might have agreed to a contract extension with the Islanders were they in a playoff position. "I don't know," Vanek said, "It's tough to predict this and that, but I'm sure if we would have [been] in the top echelon, that maybe makes a difference. For me to stand here and [say] that would make a big difference, I don't know. I can tell you winning does make a big difference."

Continued the Islanders sniper: "I have a wife, I have three boys, [so] obviously off the ice everything needs to be well, which it was great here. But I'm 30 years old and I still feel I have seven, eight good years left in me. I want to set myself up and just make sure I'm on a team where I can make the playoffs and have a chance. Can you predict which team is going to be good? No, but you can probably have a good idea for who's going in the right direction."