Online Encyclopedia
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a National Hockey League team based in Uniondale, New York.
- Founded: 1972-1973
- Arena: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (capacity 16,297)
- Uniform colors: dark blue, light blue, orange, white, silver
- Logo design: a circle with "NY", a map of Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties only), and the word "ISLANDERS"
- Stanley Cup final appearances: 5 (4 wins, 1 loss: 1979-1980 (won), 1980-1981 (won), 1981-1982 (won), 1982-1983 (won), 1983-1984 (lost))
Franchise history
When Long Island was awarded an NHL franchise to begin play in 1972, they were instantly resented by the long-established New York Rangers. In addition to paying a hefty expansion fee, they also had to pay the Rangers for encroaching on "their" territory. The Rangers have been the Islanders' biggest rivals ever since.
In the first season for professional hockey on Long Island, the expansion Islanders were one of the worst teams in NHL history - winning only 12 games and tying 6, while losing 60.
The following season, the team hired Al Arbour as head coach, and it wasn't long before the franchise turned around. After one more season without making the playoffs, the Islanders became one of the league's most successful franchises over the next 14 seasons.
After making the playoffs for the first time in 1975, the Islanders, led by defenseman Denis Potvin and forwards Clark Gillies, Billy Harris and Bob Nystrom, stunned the rival New York Rangers in a Best-of-3 first-round series. The Islanders won the series in the third game as Jean-Paul Parise scored just 12 seconds into the extra session. In a further harbinger of things to come for the franchise, the next round, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, turned out to be an even bigger surprise. Down three games to none in the Best-of-7 series, the Islanders rallied to win the next four - only the second time that has happened in any of the major North American professional sports. It almost happened a second time, in the semi-finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Islanders rallied from another 3-0 deficit to tie it at three games apiece, but the Flyers took the deciding seventh game and went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The following two seasons, the Islanders went just as far (though not in as miraculous a fashion), losing both times in the semi-finals to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. In 1978, they were upset in the second round in overtime of game 7 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1978-1979, Bryan Trottier led the league in point scoring, and second-year man Mike Bossy scored 69 goals, which also led the league. Despite the offensive power, they lost the semi-finals to the hated New York Rangers that year. Suddenly, there were whispers that the Islanders would always be the brides-maid, never the bride.
In 1980, the Islanders finally broke through and won the Stanley Cup. Trottier and Bossy once again provided a 1-2 punch on offense, but it was Bob Nystrom that proved to be the hero, scoring in overtime in the sixth game of the Stanley Cup Finals to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers.
Bossy scored 50 goals in 50 games in 1981, as the Islanders were the top team of the regular season and won their second Stanley Cup, knocking off the Minnesota North Stars in five games. The Islanders dominated the 1981-1982 season as well, at one point winning a then-record 14 straight games. They won both the regular-season title and the Stanley Cup, this time over the Vancouver Canucks in a four-game sweep. The following season, the Islanders swept the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers to win their fourth straight Stanley Cup -- and last -- also in a sweep.
The Islanders almost made it five straight, winning a record 19 consecutive playoff matches along the way, but they lost in five games to the Oilers in the 1984 finals. Only once since have the Islanders made it out of the second round of the playoffs.
By the late 1980s, Bossy and Potvin -- along with Hall of Fame coach Al Arbour -- retired, and an aging Trottier was plagued by injuries. In 1989, the Islanders missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.
The Islanders re-stocked in the early 1990s, adding players like Pierre Turgeon, Derek King, Ray Ferraro, Steve Thomas and Benoit Hogue. With Arbour temporarily coming out of retirement, the team hit paydirt in 1993, climbing out of the cellar and making it to the Wales Conference final, (despite losing Turgeon for much of the playoffs after a vicious hit by Washington Capitals enforcer Dale Hunter in the first round.) They defeated heavy favorites and defending Stanley Cup champions, the Mario Lemieux-led Pittsburgh Penguins, in overtime of the deciding seventh game, before bowing out to the eventual champion Canadiens
Their glory was short-lived. By 1996, Turgeon ended up in Montreal, Hogue in Toronto, Ferraro with the cross-town Rangers, and King's performance dropped off. The Islanders missed the playoffs each year between 1995 and 2001. All the while, the Islanders suffered through often embarrassing ownership problems, with the team changing hands three times.
With the ownership situation stabilized, fortunes began to improve. In time for the 2001-2002 season, the Islanders acquired Alexei Yashin from the Ottawa Senators, goalie Chris Osgood from the Detroit Red Wings and Michael Peca from the Buffalo Sabres. The Islanders made the 2002 playoffs before bowing out to a physical Maple Leafs team in the first round. They also lost a first-round series the next two years.
Players of Note
- Mike Bossy (inducted 1991)
- Denis Potvin (inducted 1991)
- Billy Smith (inducted 1993)
- Bryan Trottier (inducted 1997)
- Clark Gillies (inducted 2002)
- Pat LaFontaine (inducted 2003)
Current stars:
- Alexei Yashin
- Michael Peca
- Adrian Aucoin
Not to be forgotten:
Retired Numbers:
- 5 Denis Potvin
- 9 Clark Gillies
- 19 Bryan Trottier
- 22 Mike Bossy
- 23 Bob Nystrom
- 31 Billy Smith
- 99 Wayne Gretzky (retired league-wide by the NHL)
