Misplaced Pages

#115884

129-548: Without a viable indoor arena with an ice surface, through the end of the 1980s the city of Albany had never had a minor league professional hockey team. Three separate attempts to establish teams in the neighboring cities of Schenectady and Troy had proven unsuccessful. The first was in the 1952-53 season when the Capital Region had its first foray into pro hockey in the form of the Troy Uncle Sam Trojans , who played

258-579: A $ 5 million ($ 36.42 million in 2023 dollars ) territorial fee to the Rangers. An expansion franchise was also given to Atlanta (the Flames ) to keep the schedule balanced and to prevent the WHA from entering the growing market at the newly built Omni Coliseum . The New York Islanders name was unveiled by the franchise on February 15, 1972, at a press conference held across the street from Roosevelt Raceway at

387-599: A 25-year contract for National Basketball Association player Magic Johnson . DiPietro, Wang and Snow all spoke confidently and felt it was the best move for both sides, despite the mixed reactions it received from the rest of the hockey world. Specifically, Wang stated, "This is not a big deal. You have to have a commitment to who you're working with." As speculation began as to whether other teams would follow suit and give lengthy contracts to star players, Atlanta Thrashers ' general manager Don Waddell felt that, "It's highly unlikely that you will see teams go beyond that. This

516-626: A better regular season, but the Islanders swept them in the Stanley Cup Finals to win their fourth straight championship. Billy Smith was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner after shutting down the Oilers' vaunted scoring machine. Gretzky failed to score a goal during the series. Duane and Brent Sutter scored seven and five points respectively in the first three games, while Bossy again scored

645-469: A better team. In one transaction, young players Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan McCabe were traded for veteran Trevor Linden . After the Islanders finished 12 points short of the playoffs in the 1997–98 season, however, Milstein and Gluckstern decided to run the team on an austere budget in an attempt to make a profit. They also complained about the condition of the Nassau Coliseum and made noises about moving

774-485: A bit of outrage, with speculation that Tucker had intended to injure Peca before the game had begun, which Tucker denied. Despite the promise shown in the Toronto playoff series, the Islanders had a slow start to the 2002–03 season . They rebounded to make the playoffs, but lost a five-game series in the first round to the top-seeded Ottawa Senators . Milbury continued his controversial move-making by firing Laviolette after

903-683: A challenger of the National Football League , Jennings decided to help bring a new NHL team to the New York metropolitan area. Despite expanding to 14 teams just two years prior, the NHL awarded a Long Island -based franchise to clothing manufacturer Roy Boe , owner of the American Basketball Association 's New York Nets , on November 8, 1971. The terms included $ 6 million ($ 43.7 million in 2023 dollars ) franchise fee plus

1032-492: A deal which almost fell through when Spectacor Management Group , which managed the Coliseum for Nassau County, tried to force Pickett to certify that the Coliseum was safe. Pickett refused, since the Coliseum had fallen into disrepair in recent seasons. SMG backed down under pressure from the Islanders, the NHL, and Nassau County officials. Initially, the team made numerous trades and increased their payroll in an effort to assemble

1161-433: A fraction of the first installment on the cable rights deal. Several Islanders executives tipped off Newsday that something was amiss about their new boss. In July, Newsday exposed Spano as a fraud who did not have the assets required to complete the deal. The investigation showed that Spano had deliberately misled the NHL and the Islanders about his net worth, and also had two lawsuits pending against him. Within days of

1290-618: A guard rail and rolled on its side on Interstate 90 in Becket , Massachusetts . Nicolas Blanchard , Joe Jensen , Jonathan Paiement , Casey Borer , and the River Rats radio color commentator John Hennessy were taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield with serious injuries. In late January, 2010, word began to leak out of Raleigh that the franchise was about to be sold and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. On February 10, it became official as

1419-463: A lease to play in the Knickerbocker Arena. The Capital hockey community was abuzz with excitement, and commitments for over 3,000 season tickets were received. However, by the end of May, disagreements between O'Hara and the league founders led O'Hara to withdraw his franchise from the new league. In June, the league postponed its opening season by a year, but the venture never materialized and

SECTION 10

#1732852396116

1548-510: A lopsided opening series by the first-place Rangers, who went on to win the Cup, it would be the Islanders last playoff appearance until 2002 . Arbour retired for good as coach and was succeeded by longtime assistant Lorne Henning . Hextall, who allowed 16 goals in three games, drew most of the criticism for the failed playoff campaign and was shipped to Philadelphia for Tommy Soderstrom in September. In

1677-414: A new league record for most in each category by a rookie. It would be the first of four consecutive 100-point seasons, including the first two division titles in franchise history. Despite the emergence of young star players and regular season success between 1976 and 1979 the Islanders suffered a series of playoff disappointments. In 1976 and 1977 Stanley Cup playoffs , the Islanders were knocked out in

1806-449: A new team logo of a slicker-clad fisherman holding a hockey stick. Islanders fans disliked it, and rival Rangers' fans mockingly called the Islanders " fishsticks "—mocking how the logo resembled the Gorton's Fisherman . The team reverted to a modified version of the old logo as soon as the league allowed them to do so. (In spite of this, the logo found renewed popularity as a throwback design in

1935-649: A one-year agreement (with the option to renew for two additional) with the River Rats to be their farm affiliate; the end result was essentially a swap of AHL affiliates as the Lowell franchise had previously been the top affiliate of Carolina. Later on, Carolina was joined by the Colorado Avalanche in a one-year partnership agreement. On February 22, 2007, the Carolina Hurricanes and Albany River Rats announced that their affiliation agreement had been extended through

2064-482: A practice next week, every one of them would show up." The Islanders continued their climb up the standings in 1975–76 , earning 101 points and the fifth-best record in the league. It was the first 100-point season in Islanders history, in only their fourth year of existence. Rookie center Trottier finished the season with 95 points and won the Calder Memorial Trophy ; his points and assists (63) totals set

2193-413: A record of 12–60–6, setting an NHL record for most losses and worst overall record in a season. A highlight occurred on January 18, 1973, when they defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins 9–7. Finishing last in the standings that season, they received the right to select first in the 1973 draft . Off the ice, the Islanders struggled financially, a situation that was exacerbated by

2322-579: A restaurant owned by Burt Bacharach . Many expected it to use the " Long Island Ducks ", after the Eastern Hockey League team that played from 1959 to 1973. The team was soon nicknamed the "Isles" by the local newspapers. The Islanders' arrival effectively doomed the Raiders, who played in Madison Square Garden under difficult lease terms and were forced to move to Cherry Hill, New Jersey in

2451-509: A rink built in a converted department store, that team folded on November 18, 1981 after just nine games. Roughly five years later, the Troy Slapshots joined the same league and played just 6 games before folding in November 17, 1986. After this troubled period for hockey in the region, construction of the palatial Knickerbocker Arena in downtown Albany in 1990 changed the face of the sport in

2580-403: A seventh-place division finish in their inaugural season to a fourth-place finish and playoff berth in season two, to a 34-34-12 record in 1992-93, good for third in the division and another first-round playoff exit. Significant changes were made for the 1993-94 season. Cantanucci sold the franchise to local insurance executive Al Lawrence, and the team switched affiliations from the Islanders to

2709-479: A single season in the Eastern Hockey League , finishing last in the five-team loop and folding after the season. Professional hockey would not return to the Capital Region until the 1980s, with a pair of failed attempts to establish franchises in the low-level Atlantic Coast Hockey League. The Schenectady Chiefs were awarded a charter franchise in the ACHL's inaugural 1981-82 season, but after drawing minuscule crowds in

SECTION 20

#1732852396116

2838-502: A successor was found. He served as vice president of Wang's sports properties for one year before resigning in May 2007. Wang proceeded by hiring Neil Smith as general manager and Ted Nolan as head coach, following a brief stint by Brad Shaw as the team's interim head coach. Smith, however, was fired after approximately one month and quickly replaced by the team's backup goaltender Garth Snow , who retired from his playing career to accept

2967-456: A tailspin. Eventually, Boe was forced to sell both his teams. He readily found a buyer for the Nets, but had less luck finding one for the Islanders. Torrey orchestrated a sale to one of the team's limited partners, John Pickett . In return, Pickett promoted Torrey to team president, though Torrey had already been operating head of the franchise before then. Soon after purchasing the team, Pickett signed

3096-440: A talented core of players such as Derek King , Ray Ferraro , and Patrick Flatley , along with incoming Soviet players Vladimir Malakhov and Darius Kasparaitis , the Islanders had a new foundation in the early 1990s. The management committee, however, was not nearly as patient as Boe and Pickett had been, and forced Torrey to resign after the Islanders missed the playoffs again that season. Assistant general manager Don Maloney

3225-523: A tense start. Late in the deciding game of their first-round series against the Rangers, Don Maloney tied the game with a controversial goal as the Islanders believed Maloney's stick was too high. They ultimately eliminated the Rangers for the fourth consecutive year. The team then defeated the Washington Capitals in five games and the Montreal Canadiens in six to set up a finals rematch with

3354-410: A very lucrative cable television contract with the fledgling SportsChannel network as their owner, Charles Dolan , thought the up-and-coming Islanders would be a perfect centerpiece for his new network. Dolan gave Pickett a long-term guaranteed contract intended not only to keep the team on Long Island, but give area governments an incentive to renew his cable contracts. The Islanders have remained on

3483-453: A very physical first-round series in seven games; the home team won every game of the series. Notably, game 5 featured Gary Roberts charging Islander defenseman Kenny Jonsson , and Darcy Tucker submarining Peca with a questionable check that tore the Islander captain's anterior cruciate ligament , sidelining both players for the series' final game. The situation between Tucker and Peca caused

3612-474: Is a once-in-a-lifetime contract. Ownership must feel very strongly that he's their guy for the next 15 years." The new-look Islanders were picked by most analysts to languish towards the bottom of the standings. Eyeing a playoff spot, Snow traded for forward Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline on February 27, 2007. Injuries to DiPietro provided extra setbacks, but not enough to drop

3741-425: The 1972 amateur draft . Soon after the draft, Phil Goyette was named as the team's first head coach, however he was fired halfway through the season and replaced with Earl Ingarfield and assistant coach Aut Erickson . Unlike most other expansion teams' general managers, Torrey made few trades for veteran players in the early years, as he was committed to building the team through the draft. Torrey stated, "I told

3870-478: The 1974–75 season , the Islanders made one of the biggest turnarounds in NHL history. Led by Potvin, forwards Westfall, Harris, Nystrom, Gillies, and goaltenders Smith and Glenn "Chico" Resch , the team earned 88 points, 32 more than the previous season and two more than their first two seasons combined, earning their first playoff berth. They defeated the rival New York Rangers in a best-of-3 first-round series as J. P. Parise scored just 11 seconds into overtime of

3999-447: The 2000 draft , ahead of consensus picks Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik . Reporters and fans were alternately confused and enraged by the moves, which Milbury acknowledged, saying, "As dangerous as this may be, we think Mad Mike maybe has something going for him." Establishing a record of controversial decisions, Milbury held onto the "Mad Mike" nickname for years to follow. He remained adamant that his moves were to immediately improve

Albany River Rats - Misplaced Pages Continue

4128-465: The 2004–05 NHL lockout , which eliminated that season of play, the Islanders made several player moves to increase offense for following season . Peca was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for center Mike York , freeing up room under the NHL's new salary cap. The same day, the team signed winger Miroslav Satan to play alongside Yashin. Milbury also worked on remaking the team's defense, adding Alexei Zhitnik , Brad Lukowich and Brent Sopel to replace

4257-484: The 2013–14 Los Angeles Kings ). They were close but not as lucky in the following round, rallying from another 3–0 deficit to force a seventh game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers before the Flyers took the decisive seventh game at home and went on to win the Cup again. Despite a disappointing playoff finish, Arbour remained complimentary of the team's attitude and maturity, saying "If I called

4386-734: The 2014–15 season . In the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons, the Islanders split their home games between Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders played all their home games in the 2020–21 season at Nassau Coliseum. Their new arena near Belmont Park was opened in 2021. Ten former members of the Islanders have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame , seven of whom— Mike Bossy , Clark Gillies , Denis Potvin , Billy Smith , Bryan Trottier , coach Al Arbour , and general manager Bill Torrey —were members of all four Cup-winning teams. Post-dynasty players Pat LaFontaine , Roberto Luongo and Pierre Turgeon were also inducted. In fall 1972,

4515-612: The Albany Devils . The relationship only lasted through the 2016–17 season, after which the Devils announced they would be relocating their AHL team to Binghamton, New York to replace the Ottawa Senators ' team after they relocated. Troy Uncle Sam Trojans The Troy Uncle Sam Trojans were a minor-league professional ice hockey team who competed in the Eastern Hockey League in the 1952-53 season. Based out of Troy, New York ,

4644-850: The Isles ) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York . The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference , and play their home games at UBS Arena . The Islanders are one of three NHL franchises in the New York metropolitan area , along with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers , and their fanbase resides primarily on Long Island . The team

4773-558: The Lady Byng Trophy . Ray Ferraro emerged as a playoff hero, scoring a pair of overtime winners in the first-round series against the Capitals. Instead of celebrating after winning game 6 at Nassau Coliseum, however, the Islanders were both irate and despondent. Only seconds after Turgeon, the team's star center and leading scorer, scored an insurance goal in the series-clinching game, Dale Hunter violently checked him from behind. Turgeon

4902-488: The National Football League 's Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns . Let's face it, the Coliseum is a dump, and the team, well, they're losers. It's a real shame. We want to see it change because this is our home. We all deserve better. — Charles Wang In 2000, Milstein and Gluckstern sold the team to Computer Associates executives Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar . The sale cost $ 187.5 million ($ 331.74 million in 2023 dollars ) and gave fans hope for

5031-529: The New Jersey Devils . With the Knickerbocker Arena untapped as a hockey facility, the franchise moved from the campus of RPI to the 15,000-seat downtown arena, and changed their nickname to the Albany River Rats. The Rats' glory days came in the mid- to late-1990s making seven consecutive playoff appearances, winning two division titles, and taking home the AHL's Calder Cup in 1995. Also in 1995, their parent club,

5160-529: The Philadelphia Flyers , who eliminated the Islanders in the division finals in 1985 and 1987, and the Capitals, who swept the Islanders' 1986 first-round series, the team's first exit without winning a playoff round since 1978. In 1986, Nystrom retired due to a serious injury and Clark Gillies was picked up on waivers by the Buffalo Sabres . Arbour retired as coach following the 1985–86 season and

5289-419: The demonym for residents of Troy. They finished 23-34-3, last in the five-team league, and folded at the end of the season. This article about a sports team in New York is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This American ice hockey team-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as

Albany River Rats - Misplaced Pages Continue

5418-507: The 1959–1967 streak by the Boston Celtics of the NBA). Unlike the 1976–1979 Montreal Canadiens, who needed to win three series in the 1976 and 1977 playoffs under the playoff format in place at that time, the Islanders had to win four series in each of their Stanley Cup seasons. The Islanders remained competitive for the rest of the decade, even as some of the stars from the Cup teams departed. As

5547-485: The 2008–09 season. On April 24, 2008, the River Rats lost 3–2 to the Philadelphia Phantoms in the (until then) longest game played in AHL history. The Phantoms' Ryan Potulny scored 2:58 into the fifth overtime. Albany gave up 101 shots on goal, and goaltender Michael Leighton made 98 saves. On February 19, 2009, five people were seriously injured when a bus carrying the team home from a game in Lowell struck

5676-709: The A-Wings to the new arena were thwarted when that franchise signed a new ten-year lease to remain in Glens Falls. In the summer of 1990, David Welker, the owner of the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League, having made an arrangement to absorb a portion of other teams' travel costs, announced he was moving his franchise to Knickerbocker Arena, and the Albany Choppers were born. Officials of

5805-637: The Adirondack Red Wings to waive their territorial rights to the Capital Region, and a new AHL team was granted to neighboring Troy. Local car dealer Mike Cantanucci formed the Capital District Islanders , who would play in the RPI's Houston Fieldhouse and be affiliated with the NHL's New York Islanders . Despite playing in the state-of-the-art Knickerbocker Arena, the Choppers became the casualty of

5934-458: The Albany River Rats website announced that the sale of the franchise had been completed, and that the team would be moving to Charlotte at the conclusion of the 2009–10 AHL Season. "Capital District Sports, Inc. announced today that its subsidiary, the Albany River Rats, has sold its American Hockey League franchise to MAK Hockey, LLC located in Charlotte, North Carolina . The sale will not affect

6063-568: The Canadiens down and selected Potvin with the first overall pick. During the off-season, Torrey convinced former St. Louis Blues coach Al Arbour to come coach the Islanders. Even with Arbour as the team's head coach and Potvin, who won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year, the team again finished last in the East Division during the 1973–74 season , but allowed 100 fewer goals than

6192-605: The Capital District. The week that the new arena opened, plans were unveiled worldwide for the formation of the fledgling Global Hockey League , a challenger to the NHL with teams in North America and Europe that would begin play in November of that year. One of six inaugural franchises announced in the league's initial press conference was the Albany Admirals, which was to be owned by businessman Joseph O'Hara and had signed

6321-601: The Carolina Hurricanes beginning in the 2006–07 season brought hope of a return to AHL glory not seen in Albany since the late 1990s. On March 22, 2006, the Devils announced that they were cutting ties with the River Rats after the 2005–06 AHL season, as the parent club announced the purchase of the Lowell Lock Monsters . Despite the move, the River Rats were not relocated. In April 2006, The Carolina Hurricanes signed

6450-636: The Global Hockey League never made it to the ice. Since 1979, Capital Region hockey fans, press and media had effectively adopted the Adirondack Red Wings as their pseudo-home team. Although the American Hockey League team was based 45 minutes north of Albany in Glens Falls, NY, it relied on fans from the Capital Region as a vital part of their market. The situation set the stage for a flurry of activity as other teams and leagues eyed

6579-434: The Islanders achieved a huge upset when David Volek scored at 5:16 of overtime of the deciding seventh game. Newsday' s front page the day following the win was a picture of Healy with a headline reading, "It's a Miracle!" This was the last playoff series won by the Islanders for 23 years, until the 2015–16 season. Turgeon returned to the Islanders' top line for the conference finals against the Montreal Canadiens , though he

SECTION 50

#1732852396116

6708-474: The Islanders blew a 4–2 lead in the third period but Nystrom continued his overtime heroics, scoring at 7:11 of the extra frame, on assists by John Tonelli and Lorne Henning, to bring Long Island its first Stanley Cup championship. This was the most recent Stanley Cup-clinching game won in overtime by the home team until the Los Angeles Kings did it in 2014. It was also the Islanders' sixth overtime victory of

6837-407: The Islanders signed Bill Guerin to a two-year contract as he immediately assumed team captaincy. Also in the off-season, free agents Mike Comrie , Andy Sutton and Jon Sim joined the team. That summer, it was announced that Nolan extended an invitation to Al Arbour to return as a coach for one game in order to bring his total number of games coached to 1,500. Arbour signed a one-day contract,

6966-472: The Islanders win only seven of their first 27 games. Torrey fired Simpson and brought Arbour back. Arbour was unable to turn things around, and the team finished with 61 points, tied with the Quebec Nordiques for the worst record in the league. It was their first losing season and the first time missing the playoffs since their second season. Smith, the last remaining original Islanders player, retired after

7095-550: The Islanders' playoff success. In the playoffs, the Islanders defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3–1 in the preliminary round, then beat the Boston Bruins 4–1 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the Islanders faced the Buffalo Sabres , who had finished second overall in the NHL standings. The Islanders won the first two games in Buffalo, including a 2–1 victory in game two on Bob Nystrom 's goal in double overtime. They went on to win

7224-558: The New Jersey Devils, won the Stanley Cup. However, wins declined after the 1997–98 season, the last time Albany won a playoff series. By 1998, owner Al Lawrence had been mired in bankruptcy court and was forced to sell the River Rats hockey team. Walter Robb purchased the franchise, allowing the franchise to remain in Albany. The River Rats finished last in each of the six seasons between 2000–01 and 2005–06. A new affiliation with

7353-475: The Oilers, despite finishing lower than them in the overall standings. The new format had them play three straight games in Edmonton, where the Oilers managed to lock up the series. Bossy cited the team's hard time winning an away game as their downfall in the series. The Oilers also ended the Islanders' 19 series playoff winning streak. It remains the longest streak in the history of professional sports (one more than

7482-417: The Oilers. The series featured rookie Pat LaFontaine scoring two third-period goals in 38 seconds. This time, the Oilers dethroned the Islanders to win the first of what would be five Stanley Cup victories in seven years. For the 1984 playoffs , the NHL changed the home and away schedule for the finals, which provided the Islanders home-ice advantage in the series based on winning a regular season game against

7611-511: The Portland franchise would not come to fruition, Albany did not go long without an AHL franchise. On June 6, it was announced that the Lowell Devils would be relocating to Albany, reestablishing the city's connection with the New Jersey Devils. Despite the tradition of the River Rats branding, officials announced that as a separate entity from the previous franchise, the new team would be known as

7740-446: The Rangers in five games of the opening round. The team bought out the remaining years of Bryan Trottier 's contract, sending him off with a team record of games played. The 1990–91 season had the team finish well out of the playoffs after winning only 25 games. LaFontaine was frustrated with the team's lack of success and the progress of his contract negotiations, and held out rather than report to camp before 1991–92 . In response to

7869-425: The Rangers' owners, Madison Square Garden , to reconsider. Rangers' president Bill Jennings weighed pros and cons. Another local NHL team would be compelled to compensate the Rangers for sharing the New York area. On the other hand, a WHA team would owe the Rangers nothing unless it was included in a potential NHL–WHA merger, a prospect to which both Campbell and Jennings were adamantly opposed. Finally, consenting to

SECTION 60

#1732852396116

7998-614: The Stanley Cup-winning goal in game four. After that game, the Oilers players walked past the Islanders' dressing room and were surprised to see the champions exhausted. Oilers players such as Gretzky and Mark Messier said that they realized at that moment how much it would actually take to win the Stanley Cup. The Islanders finished the 1983–84 regular season tied atop the Prince of Wales Conference while successfully defending their Patrick Division title. The "Drive for Five" got off to

8127-456: The Tri-Cities price and attendance wars. Welker's management style turned off advertisers, sponsors, and fans alike, and on February 11, 1991 with dwindling attendance, high lease and travel costs, no NHL affiliation to help pay expenses, and not enough money to meet player payroll, the Choppers folded in midseason. The AHL was the clear winner in the battle for hockey in the Capital Region, and

8256-465: The Trojans were coached by player-coach Bill Moe , and led by Art Stone , who scored 52 goals and added 55 assists for a league-leading 107 points. They also featured future Toronto Maple Leafs head coach John Brophy and future New York Rangers and brother of Gordie Howe Vic Howe . The unique nickname was an amalgamation of Troy native Samuel Wilson 's famous moniker " Uncle Sam ", and "Trojans",

8385-609: The aborted Continental League , the American Football League and the American Basketball Association , his ultimate goal in these efforts had always been to try to persuade the established leagues to grant second franchises to New York as had been the case with the Mets (and also with the New York Jets and New York Nets , as a result of those teams' leagues merging with their established rivals). In contrast, Shea decided there

8514-497: The area. It began when area investors tried to secure an expansion American Hockey League franchise for Albany, but the Adirondack Red Wings nixed the effort by invoking their territorial rights to the Tri-Cities area. Soon after, an attempt to establish an International Hockey League franchise at the "Knick" was vetoed by IHL Governors concerned about the travel costs for teams in the Midwest-based league. Then attempts to lure

8643-422: The best in franchise history. They finished the season with new broken records; their 96 points marked the fourth biggest one-year turnaround in the league's history (44 points higher than the previous season), while Osgood's 66 starts surpassed Ron Hextall 's previous record of 65. During the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs , they were seeded fifth and faced the fourth-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs . The Islanders lost in

8772-671: The city would likely have a team for the 2010-2011 season and might even keep the River Rats nickname and logo, which remained the property of former owner Walter Robb. On March 15, it was reported in the Albany Times Union and the Portland Press Herald that Albany officials had their sights set on the AHL's Portland Pirates as a potential candidate for relocation, but talks between the Times Union Center and Pirates ownership eventually broke off. Although relocation of

8901-408: The conclusion of the season. Fans' displeasure at Maloney for trading the popular Turgeon was magnified when Muller balked at joining a rebuilding team. He played 45 games for the Islanders before being sent to Toronto as well. Before the 1995–96 season , Maloney fired Henning and named Mike Milbury head coach. The same year, the Islanders' attempt at updating their look resulted in the unveiling of

9030-446: The cup again until 1994 ). Fans in other NHL cities soon picked up the chant. In 1981–82 , the Islanders won a then-record 15 straight games en route to a franchise-record 118 points, while Mike Bossy set a scoring record for right-wingers with 147 points in an 80-game schedule. The Islanders finished with the most points in the league (118), yet once in the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins they found themselves down late in

9159-444: The day before their first game, at the Rangers practice rink in New Hyde Park . The Islanders' first win came on October 12, 1972, in a 3–2 game against the Los Angeles Kings . In the team's first season, young players such as Smith, Nystrom, and Henning (all of whom would be part of the Islanders dynasty of the early 1980s) were given chances to prove themselves in the NHL. The young and inexperienced expansion team, however, posted

9288-629: The deal. Able to protect only one netminder in the expansion draft, the Islanders left Healy exposed. He was claimed by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim , then was claimed by the Tampa Bay Lightning in Phase II of the draft the next day, and finally had his rights traded to the Rangers, where he became the backup. The Islanders barely squeezed past the Panthers to make the 1994 playoffs before being swept in

9417-478: The decade wore on, Pickett began to keep the money from the team's cable deal rather than reinvest it in the team as he had done in years past. Although it did not become clear immediately, the lack of funds limited Torrey's ability to replace all of the departing talent. In the 1984–85 NHL season , the Islanders slipped to third in their division, followed by similar results in the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons. They began facing stiff competition from division rivals,

9546-531: The departed Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik , who left as free agents, and Jonsson, who left the NHL to play in the HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden. In the aftermath, Yashin was named as the team's new captain. The team's inconsistent play led to Stirling's dismissal midway through the season. On the day of Stirling's firing, January 11, 2006, Milbury also announced that he would step down as general manager once

9675-408: The eighth of nine dynasties recognized by the NHL in its history. Their 19 consecutive playoff series wins between 1980 and 1984 is a feat that remains unparalleled in the history of professional sports. They are the last team in any major professional North American sport to win four consecutive championships, and to date the last NHL team to achieve a three-peat . Following the team's dynasty era,

9804-613: The emerging World Hockey Association (WHA) planned to place its New York team, the New York Raiders , in Nassau County 's brand-new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum . County officials did not consider the WHA a major league and wanted to keep the Raiders out. William Shea , who had helped bring Major League Baseball 's New York Mets to the area a decade earlier, was enlisted to bring an NHL team to Long Island. Although Shea had previously worked with upstart rival leagues including

9933-451: The end of the failed 1995 campaign, Maloney decided that the core of players he had left alone for three seasons needed to be revamped, leading to a rebuilding project. He traded Turgeon and Malakhov to the Montreal Canadiens for Kirk Muller and Mathieu Schneider , while Hogue was sent to Toronto for young goaltender Eric Fichaud . Additionally, Maloney allowed the team's leading scorer, Ferraro, to depart as an unrestricted free agent at

10062-525: The established American Hockey League felt that the Midwest-based IHL was invading their territory, and the hockey war was on. The AHL hoped to create a situation that might somehow force the IHL team out of the market. League officials felt that if they added an additional AHL franchise to the market, they'd create a natural rival for the Adirondack Red Wings. Although the Choppers had the distinct advantage of

10191-563: The establishment of an NHL franchise in suburban Nassau County would help to ensure the vast majority of the Rangers' fanbase within New York City proper would continue to support the older franchise, and reduced the prospect of a rival league eventually establishing a team and fanbase there. Perhaps remembering the crucial role the Jets had played in ensuring the success of the AFL just a few years earlier as

10320-432: The fifth-worst record in the league by the end of the season. At the 2008 NHL entry draft , the Islanders made two trades to move down from the fifth to the ninth overall pick, with which they selected center Josh Bailey . They also added free agents Mark Streit and Doug Weight . The team dismissed head coach Ted Nolan over alleged philosophy differences, and later that summer replaced him with Scott Gordon . Near

10449-540: The first time in five years, earning only 91 points. However, they finally broke through and won the Stanley Cup . Before the playoffs, Torrey made the difficult decision to trade longtime and popular veterans Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis to the Los Angeles Kings for second line center Butch Goring . Goring's arrival is often called the "final piece of the puzzle", a strong two-way player, his presence on

10578-407: The fourth overtime—and at 1:56 a.m. on Easter Sunday morning. The win came even though the Islanders had been outshot 75–52. They were eliminated in the division finals in seven games by the Flyers. Chronic back pain forced Mike Bossy to retire after the season. The following season , the Islanders captured another division title, but were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by

10707-496: The franchise ran into problems with money, ownership and management, an aging arena, and low attendance. Their woes were reflected on the ice, as the team has not won a division title since 1987–88 , and went 22 seasons without winning a playoff series prior to the 2016 playoffs . After years of failed attempts to rebuild or replace Nassau Coliseum in suburban Long Island, the Islanders relocated to Barclays Center in Brooklyn following

10836-564: The holdout, Torrey engineered a rebuilding project with two blockbuster trades on October 25, 1991. He dealt LaFontaine, Randy Wood and Randy Hillier (along with future considerations) to the Buffalo Sabres in return for Pierre Turgeon , Benoit Hogue , Uwe Krupp and Dave McLlwain . He also sent longtime captain Brent Sutter and Brad Lauer to the Chicago Blackhawks for Steve Thomas and Adam Creighton . With these additions and

10965-403: The ice, managed to hook the puck with his stick and score. Bossy netted the Stanley Cup-winning goal and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. The next year, although the Islanders had won the Stanley Cup three straight times, more attention was being paid to the upstart Edmonton Oilers , whose young superstar Wayne Gretzky had just shattered existing scoring records. In 1982–83 the Oilers had

11094-481: The late 2010s and early 2020s, enough so that the team would revive it as their third "Reverse Retro" jersey in 2022 and would use an adjusted version of the logo for their AHL team, the Bridgeport Islanders , beginning in 2024.) The year was a disappointment on the ice as well, as the Islanders finished in last place with a record of 22–50–10. During the season, team management fired Maloney, whom fans blamed for

11223-452: The league spent well under $ 1,000 (depending on the source, the league spent either $ 525 or $ 750 ) to check Spano's background. It subsequently stiffened the process for vetting future owners. The incident and its aftermath were covered in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, Big Shot . Pickett finally found a buyer, a group led by Howard Milstein and Phoenix Coyotes co-owner Steven Gluckstern,

11352-410: The lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, the Islanders not only failed to qualify for the playoffs, they finished ahead of only the third-year Ottawa Senators . By the end of the 1994–95 season, Maloney was under considerable heat from the press and fan base for his handling of the team. Since taking over in 1992, the only noticeable attempt he made to upgrade the roster was the acquisition of Hextall. Near

11481-445: The middle of their second season. Former California Golden Seals executive vice president Bill Torrey was named as the team's general manager at the same press conference as the franchise's name unveiling. The Islanders secured veteran forward Ed Westfall , defenseman Gerry Hart , and goaltender Billy Smith in the 1972 expansion draft , along with junior ice hockey stars Billy Harris , Lorne Henning , and Bobby Nystrom in

11610-405: The network, now known as MSG Sportsnet , for over four decades. After the Islanders' regular season dominance and playoff disappointment in 1979, Arbour decided that he would no longer concern himself too greatly with his team's finish in the regular season. Instead, he focused his team's energy on how they would perform in the playoffs. In 1980 , the Islanders dropped below the 100-point mark for

11739-424: The new arena, the AHL was hoping to counter that advantage with the established fan base of the AHL, the affiliations of NHL clubs, the higher classification and better quality of play of the AHL, and the new rivalry between the established Wings and the fledgling Islanders. The AHL knew the market was not big enough to support three professional hockey teams, but they were willing to take the risk. The AHL convinced

11868-505: The next two seasons. Bossy scored 50 goals in 50 games in 1981 and the Islanders lost only three playoff games en route to defeating the Minnesota North Stars in five games to win the Stanley Cup. Goring won the Conn Smythe Trophy. During their semifinals sweep of the Rangers, Islander fans began taunting the Rangers with a chant of " 1940! " – referring to the Rangers' last Stanley Cup win in 1940 (the Rangers would not win

11997-478: The owners that we're not going to beat this team next door by taking the castoffs from others teams. We'd have to develop our own stars." Before the season began, Westfall was named the team's first captain. By September 1972, the Islanders were waiting for the Nassau Coliseum to be completed as well as their practice facility "The Royal Ice Rink" in Kings Park . The team was forced to practice as late as October 6,

12126-535: The playoffs. Bryan Trottier won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Torrey's strategy of building through the draft turned out very well; nearly all of the major contributors on the 1980 champions were home-grown Islanders or had spent most of their NHL careers in the Islanders organization. The Islanders were the first NHL team to win the Stanley Cup with Europeans ( Stefan Persson and Kallur) on its roster. The Islanders dominated

12255-415: The playoffs. Milbury followed by once again stepping down as coach during the following season while retaining his job as general manager. During the continued playoff drought, instability in the front office mirrored the Islanders' substandard performance on the ice. Pickett sold the team to Dallas businessman John Spano in 1996. However, three months after the 1997 closing, Spano had only paid Pickett

12384-498: The position. Before his dismissal, Smith made several free agent acquisitions, including defensemen Brendan Witt and Tom Poti , and forwards Mike Sillinger and Chris Simon . On September 12, 2006, the Islanders signed DiPietro to a 15-year, $ 67.5 million ($ 102.02 million in 2023 dollars ) contract, which was believed to be the longest contract to date in the NHL and the second-longest in North American sports, behind

12513-458: The previous season. The season included their first win against the Rangers, on October 27, 1973, which also happened to be the game where Potvin scored his first NHL goal. Although they failed to make the playoffs, their 56 points represented a 26-point improvement from the previous season. With the 4th and 22nd picks in the 1974 draft , the Islanders added young forwards Clark Gillies and Bryan Trottier to continue Torrey's building plan. In

12642-477: The regular season with 119 points, as well as recording a record 17 consecutive wins towards the end of the season, and were overwhelmingly favored to win a third straight championship. Jim Smith of Newsday predicted that with Turgeon on the sidelines, the Penguins would sweep the Islanders out of the playoffs, however on the strength of outstanding goaltending from Glenn Healy and contributions from all four lines,

12771-521: The remainder of the 2009-10 season, with regular season games concluding on April 10, 2010 followed by the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs ." The relocated team, to be known as the Charlotte Checkers , would remain the top affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes and replace that city's ECHL franchise of the same name. Shortly after the announcement of the sale of the franchise, officials in Albany, as well as AHL President Dave Andrews, told media outlets that

12900-464: The report, Spano was forced to relinquish the team to Pickett. Federal prosecutors turned up evidence that Spano had forged many of the documents used to vouch for his wealth and to promise payment to Pickett, and even appeared to have sent many of the documents from his own office in Dallas. He was sentenced to 71 months in prison for bank and wire fraud. The NHL took additional heat when reports surfaced that

13029-546: The result was a new AHL franchise that would become the predominant hockey franchise in the metropolitan area for the next two decades. The team competed in the AHL as the Capital District Islanders for three seasons, playing on campus at RPI located across the Hudson River in Troy , New York . The Islanders showed slow but modest improvement in their three years in Troy, moving from

13158-419: The season to become the team's goaltending coach. Not long after the end of the season, Pickett moved to Florida and turned day-to-day operations over to a committee of four Long Island entrepreneurs: Ralph Palleschi, Bob Rosenthal, Stephen Walsh , and Paul Greenwood . In return, they each bought a 2.5% interest in the team. In the next season , the Islanders rebounded to get back into the playoffs, but fell to

13287-470: The season with 30 goals scored or more, with five of them Islanders draft picks, showing the success of the draft building process. The season ended with a familiar result in the playoffs , as the team lost in overtime in game 7 of the quarterfinals against the Toronto Maple Leafs . In 1978–79 , the team finished with the best record in the NHL, clinching it with three goals in the third period of

13416-615: The season's final game against the Rangers. Trottier won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP and captured the Art Ross Trophy for the most points, while sophomore Bossy scored 69 goals, which also led the league. Despite their regular season dominance, the Islanders exited the playoffs with another upset playoff loss, this time to the Rangers in the semifinals. As the team was leaving Madison Square Garden following their game 6 elimination, Rangers fans rocked and threw objects at

13545-483: The season, citing postseason interviews with the players in which they expressed a lack of confidence in the coach. He was replaced with Steve Stirling , who had previously been coaching the team's top minor league affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers . In the following season , the Islanders again lost in the first round of the playoffs, this time to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning . Following

13674-418: The second line ensured that opponents would no longer be able to focus their defensive efforts on the Islanders' first line of Bossy, Trottier and Clark Gillies . Contributions from new teammates, such as wingers Duane Sutter and Anders Kallur and stay-at-home defensemen Dave Langevin , Gord Lane , and Ken Morrow (the latter fresh off a gold medal win at the 1980 Olympics ), also figured prominently in

13803-410: The semifinals by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Canadiens . The Canadiens posted a 24–3 record in the playoffs during those two seasons with all three losses coming at the hands of the Islanders. In the 1977 draft , Torrey had the 15th overall pick and was deciding between forwards Mike Bossy and Dwight Foster . Bossy was known as an emerging scorer who lacked physicality. Foster

13932-490: The series in six games and reach the finals for the first time in franchise history, where they would face the NHL's regular season champions, the Philadelphia Flyers , who had gone undefeated for 35 straight games (25–0–10) during the regular season. In game one in Philadelphia , the Islanders won 4–3 on Denis Potvin 's power-play goal in overtime. Leading the series 3–2, they went home to Long Island for game six. In that game

14061-465: The shortest in league history, on November 3, 2007; it put him behind the bench the following day as the Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2, raising his career coaching win total to 740. The team remained in the playoff hunt through the trade deadline as they re-signed Comrie to a one-year contract and traded away Simon and Marc-Andre Bergeron . A rash of injuries saw them plummet to

14190-610: The team elsewhere. They began trading or releasing many popular players to avoid paying their salaries, including star scorer Zigmund Palffy , team captain Linden, former rookie of the year Bryan Berard , and rugged defenseman Rich Pilon . Losing the highly regarded players, the team finished with similar results the next two seasons. Attendance, which had been in a steady decline over the past few years, decreased even further to under 12,000 per game. Around that time, Milstein bid hundreds of millions of dollars in unsuccessful attempts to purchase

14319-839: The team from playoff contention. They qualified for the playoffs, assisted by a late-season winning streak and a 3–2 shootout victory against the New Jersey Devils in their final regular season game. Despite DiPietro's return to the team in time for the playoffs, the team lost their first round matchup in five games to the Presidents' Trophy -winning Buffalo Sabres . Management announced in June 2007 that they would buy out captain Alexei Yashin 's contract, which had four seasons remaining on it. Free agents Smyth, Poti, Viktor Kozlov , Jason Blake , and Richard Zednik also left in July 2007. During that month,

14448-465: The team to turn its lack of success around. The new owners allowed Milbury to spend money and invest in free agents. His first attempt proved unpopular with fans, as he traded away future star players Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish . Milbury then further surprised the hockey world when he took Rick DiPietro with the first selection in

14577-415: The team's bus. Hockey professionals and journalists generally questioned whether the Islanders were capable of winning the important games needed to win a Stanley Cup championship. Islander players would cite fear of repeating the pain of this loss as spurring their later success. After transferring the captaincy to Gillies the season before, Westfall retired and shortly thereafter became a color commentator on

14706-409: The team's captain. By virtue of finishing with the worst record in the previous season, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood was the next addition, taken as the first pick in the September 2001 waiver draft, adding a former Stanley Cup championship goaltender without giving up any players in exchange. The additions proved to be a great help, as the team opened the season with a 9–0–1–1 record,

14835-432: The team's downfall, and gave Milbury full control of hockey operations as both a coach and general manager. Milbury went on to resign as head coach during the following season and elevated assistant Rick Bowness to the position. After another unsuccessful season with little improvement, Milbury took over as coach again during the 1997–98 season . The team improved to fourth place in their division but again failed to make

14964-509: The team's telecasts. Off the ice, the Islanders were on shaky ground. Boe was losing money on both his franchises, even as the Islanders quickly surged to NHL prominence and the Nets became an ABA power. The Islanders were still far behind on the $ 10 million they had paid in startup costs, and the expansion and territorial fees associated with moving the Nets to the National Basketball Association threw Boe's finances into

15093-415: The team, whose poor winning percentage that year was ahead of only the franchise's first season. The team's uninspired play led Milbury to fire head coach and past player Butch Goring . Fans vocalized their dislike of Goring taking the fall rather than Milbury, which was further worsened when Milbury passed on hiring Ted Nolan as Goring's successor; Instead, Boston Bruins assistant coach Peter Laviolette

15222-401: The then-unprecedented $ 11 million in franchise and territorial fees. Montreal Canadiens ' general manager Sam Pollock was keen to acquire the Islanders' pick so he could draft French Canadian junior star defenseman Denis Potvin , who had been touted as "the next Bobby Orr " when he was 14 years old. Pollock made several lucrative trade offers including cash to the Islanders, but Torrey turned

15351-429: The third game. In the next round, down three games to none in a best-of-seven series against the Pittsburgh Penguins , the Islanders rallied to win the next four and take the series-winning game 7 on a late third-period goal by Westfall. Only four other major North American professional sports teams have accomplished this feat (the 1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs , 2004 Boston Red Sox , the 2009–10 Philadelphia Flyers , and

15480-460: The third period of deciding game 5 before John Tonelli scored both the tying goal and the overtime winner. After defeating the Rangers in six games they swept both the Quebec Nordiques and the Vancouver Canucks in the first-ever coast-to-coast Stanley Cup Finals for their third straight championship. During that series Bossy, upended by a check from Tiger Williams and falling parallel to

15609-474: The upstart New Jersey Devils . Potvin retired after the playoffs, holding records for most career goals (310), assists (742) and points (1052) by a defenseman, though he has since been passed in these categories by Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey . Around this time, the team's run of good luck in the draft began to run out. Of their four top draft picks from 1987 to 1990, they lost one to a freak knee injury and two others never panned out. The 1988–89 season saw

15738-492: Was believed to be out for the entire second round, if not longer, with a separated shoulder. He returned only for spot power-play duty in the last game of the second round. Hunter received a 21-game suspension, at the time the longest for on-ice misconduct in modern NHL history. The Islanders' next opponent, the Pittsburgh Penguins , were twice-defending Stanley Cup champions and full of stars such as Mario Lemieux , Jaromir Jagr , and Ron Francis . The Penguins had roared through

15867-459: Was founded in 1972 as part of the NHL's maneuvers to keep a team from rival league World Hockey Association (WHA) out of the newly built Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in suburban Uniondale, New York . After two years of building up the team's roster, they found almost instant success by securing 14 straight playoff berths starting with their third season. The Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships between 1980 and 1983 ,

15996-452: Was hired in Torrey's place, while Torrey quickly resurfaced with the expansion Florida Panthers . In Maloney's first year, 1992–93 , the Islanders rebounded to make the playoffs, in the process surpassing the 80-point mark for the first time in five years. The LaFontaine-Turgeon trade proved successful for both the Islanders and Sabres, as both players hit career highs in points and Turgeon won

16125-425: Was hired. Three key personnel acquisitions were made prior to the 2001–02 season, Laviolette's first. Alexei Yashin was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Bill Muckalt , defenseman Zdeno Chara and the Islanders' second overall pick in the 2001 draft . Next, Islanders prospects Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt were traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Michael Peca , who became

16254-589: Was known as a solid checker with marginal offensive ability (despite having led the Ontario Hockey League in scoring). Arbour persuaded Torrey to pick Bossy, arguing it was easier to teach a scorer how to check. In the 1977–78 season , Bossy became the third Islander to win the Calder Trophy, and scored 53 goals that season, a rookie record at the time. The team earned their first Patrick Division and Campbell Conference championships. Six players finished

16383-492: Was no need to work with the WHA since unlike the initial results of his previous approaches to established leagues in the other major sports, Shea immediately found NHL president Clarence Campbell to be receptive to adding a second team in New York. Nevertheless, the Islanders' bid faced opposition from the New York Rangers , who did not want additional competition in the New York area. Eventually, Campbell and Shea persuaded

16512-472: Was not in peak form as he had not fully recovered. The Islanders bowed out of the playoffs after a hard-fought five games, two of which went to overtime. After beating the Islanders, the Canadiens went on to win the Cup. Maloney had avoided making many personnel changes his first year, but on the eve of the 1993 expansion draft he traded backup goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick to the Quebec Nordiques for Ron Hextall . The clubs also exchanged first-round picks in

16641-493: Was replaced by longtime junior hockey coach Terry Simpson . During the first round of the 1987 playoffs against the Capitals, the Islanders had fallen behind in the series three games to one but were not eliminated due to a playoff format change from a best-of-5 series to a best-of-7. The Islanders evened the series, which set the stage for one of the most famous games in NHL history: the " Easter Epic ". Kelly Hrudey stopped 73 shots on goal while Pat LaFontaine scored at 8:47 of

#115884