The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they have signed former New York Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek this afternoon. According to The Dispatch, the oft-injured blue liner penned a one-year, $2.2 million deal. The Blue Jackets improved their defensive corps this summer by signing two former New York Islanders.

Let that sink in.

All kidding aside, this is a deal ends general manager Scott Howson's summer overhaul on defense that saw him wave bye bye to Jan Hejda, Mike Commodore and Craig Rivet while adding James Wisniewski and Martinek. Head coach Scott Arniel is expected to slot Martinek, 34, next to Marc Methot, who signed a four-year $12 million extension yesterday, on the second 'D' pairing. The two will likely play a shutdown role going up against opposition's top lines.

Martinek, another right-handed shot, is regarded by many as one of the more underrated defenseman in the game. The Havlicko Brod, Czech Republic native can log big minutes -- he averaged just south of 21 minutes a game last season -- and can solidify the penalty kill. He makes smart, sound decisions with the puck and owns a heavy shot. His offensive numbers, 16 points in 64 games last season, aren't mind boggling, but he's not being in to quaterback the power play. There's a reason Howson signed him to a one-year deal.

In nine NHL seasons, Martinek has broken the 70-game plateau just once. He's played over 60 games on just four occasions. He suffered a concussion, the second of his career, playing for the Czech Republic in the World Championships this past spring and missed 66 games in 2009-2010 with a torn ACL. Knees, feet, wrists, ankles, head, shoulder, ribs -- you name it, he's injured it. His War and Peace-sized medical history portfolio combined with the fact that he'll be 35-years-old by the season opener is concerning.

The move is a bit of a gamble for the up-until-this-summer conservative Howson. At best, Martinek can be a right-handed Hejda, which ain't bad, while costing the Blue Jackets $1 million less off the cap. If he and Methot can form a shutdown tandem ala Hejda-Commodore circa 2009, it would go along way towards improving the Blue Jackets' playoff chances. But going off history, it's safe to say that whoever wins the No. 7 defenseman spot -- Aaron Johnson, Nick Holden, John Moore and David Savard are the likely frontrunners -- should expect to see at least a dozen games filling in for Martinek alone.

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