The Islanders opened the season on a losing streak, but then began to play well enough to temporarily move into first place in the Atlantic Division by December. On December 16, 2006, the Islanders traded Alexei Zhitnik to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Freddy Meyer and a conditional third round draft pick. On December 20, they then traded forward Mike York to the Flyers for forward Randy Robitaille and a fifth-round pick in 2008.