The Minnesota Wild will prance on into the Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday night for a tilt with the struggling Islanders. 

For most Islanders fans, the real focus of the night will be on Matt Moulson. The 30 year old forward spent four full seasons on Long Island before being dealt to Buffalo on October 27. In an era of Islanders history that didn't see too much of an upside, Moulson provided the fans with something to believe in. 

With his stint starting in 2009, Moulson put together three consecutive thirty plus goal seasons while scoring a career high thirty-six in 2011-2012. Fans took enjoyment seeing Matt Moulson make sensational plays with close friend and line mate John Tavares. 

While Moulson may have burst onto the scene with the Islanders, he is a product of the Los Angeles Kings, who he scored six goals for over the course of twenty-nine games from 2007-2009. But prior to the 2009 season, Islanders General Manager Garth Snow signed the Cornell graduate to a one year deal. After proving he could play at the NHL level and produce, Moulson eventually inked a three-year contract extesion in January of 2011, which would keep him with the Islanders through the conclusion of the 2013-2014 season. 

Entering the final year of his deal, it was unclear whether the Islanders were looking to lock up Moulson for the long run after not having negotiated a contract after the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I think me and my wife, we always knew it was a possibility, but I think I believed in my heart that things would work out," Moulson admitted to the NY Daily News.

Of  course he was speaking about the trade that sent him to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for former fifth overall pick Thomas Vanek. 

Moulson played forty-four games for Buffalo but has since moved on, after being the centerpiece of a trade that would land him in Minnesota, in the heat of a playoff race. 

In grand total, the North York, Ontario native has played in sixty games this season for three different clubs, tallying eighteen goals, and currently sits in fourth place of the Western Conference. His former (and more familiar team) the New York Islanders stand in the basement of the Eastern Conference. 

As of right now, it looks like Matt Moulson will go to July 1st for free agency. It isn't clear as to where he'll sign in the summer or if he'll earn top dollar for the numbers he's produced.

But, currently, Matt Moulson will skate on Coliseum ice on Wednesday night, for the first time since being shipped off the island that he came to call his home.