General Summary

Team: New York Islanders

Subreddit: /r/NewYorkIslanders

Division: /r/Metropolitan

Relvant Links:

(http://islanders.nhl.com/)

(http://www.lighthousehockey.com/)

(http://eyesonisles.com/)

Nickname: Isles

New York Islanders retired numbers:

Potvin:

• Four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Islanders in the early 1980s and was also a three-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, and currently serves as a commentator for Ottawa Senators' television broadcasts on Sportsnet. Denis was also captain of the Isles during the 4 Stanley Cup victories. He retired as the NHL career leader in playoff goals, assists, and points for defensemen.

Potvin's brother, Jean Potvin, was also an NHL defenseman and the brothers were teammates for a number of years with the Islanders.

Gillies:

• Another four-time cup winner and former captain, his career spanned 958 games. Gillies notched 319 goals, 378 assists, and 1023 penalty minutes. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. Despite having the same last name and playing for the same team, Clark Gillies is not related to former Islanders enforcer Trevor Gillies.

In 1982 Gillies and three teammates — Bob Nystrom, Wayne Merrick, and Gordie Lane — stripped to their briefs in the February issue of Penthouse magazine for a fashion layout promoting the latest in men's underwear. Here you go, ladies.

Trottier:

• He won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders, two with the Penguins and one as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche. He holds the NHL record for points in a single period with 6 (4 goals, 2 assists) in the second period against the Rangers on Dec. 23, 1978. He is also one of only eight NHL players with multiple 5-goal games.

Bossy:

• Bossy played for the New York Islanders for his entire career and was a crucial part of their four-year reign as Stanley Cup champions in the early 1980s. Among many other remarkable achievements, he was the only player in NHL history to score consecutive Stanley Cup winning goals, in 1982 and 1983, the only player to record four game-winning goals in one series (1983 Conference Final), is the NHL's all-team leader in average goals scored per regular season game, and is one of only five players to score 50 goals in 50 games.

Nystrom:

• He is best remembered as having scored the winning goal at the 7:11 mark of overtime to give the New York Islanders the 1980 Stanley Cup title, the first of four straight championships for the team. This is considered by many fans to be the most important goal in team history. He was also among the last NHL players to not wear a helmet during a game. In 1991, the Islanders began presenting the Bob Nystrom Award to the player on the team "who best exemplifies leadership, hustle, and dedication."

Many Long Islanders have met “Mr. Islander” as Nystrom is often referred. He has dedicated much time over the past few decades to help at charities, appear at team events, and can often be found talking to fans after games in Nassau.

Smith:

• Besides being in the net for the 4 consecutive Stanley Cup wins, Smith is famous for being the first goalie to be credited with a goal. Smith was also the first goalie to wear colored goalie pads.

While Smith was an incredible goalie and the dynasty wouldn’t have happened without him, there were definitely some problems concerning his overall attitude and personality. He was nicknamed "Battlin' Billy" and "Hatchet Man" for his hot temper and blatant use of his equipment on players crowding his crease.

Smith was also infamous for his dramatic displays of fake injuries and diving which would usually result in opposing team penalties.

Smith also refused to participate in the traditional handshakes between teams at the end of a playoff series, as to not feel any worse after a loss than he already did, being very passionate about games that put the ranking of their team on the line.

Another notable incident with Smith occurred in practice where then-teammate and aforementioned Mike Bossy fired a shot at Smith to which Smith objected. Smith charged after Bossy with his stick but was tackled by teammates before Smith took his frustrations out on Bossy. Because of these various examples of unsportsmanlike conduct, many older fans of the team are torn when it comes to this guy. While he played a major role in the dynasty, which was in some cases the greatest thing to happen in some Isles fans’ lives, his behavior makes it very hard to root for him. I’ll save that debate for another day.

Other People of Interest:

Al Arbour:

Al started his hockey career as a Red Wings player in 1954 where he won the cup. Additionally, Al played for the Hawks, Leafs, and Blues, winning the Stanley Cup as a player 2 more times. During these wins he became one of only 11 NHL players to win 2 Stanley Cups consecutively with 2 different teams and is one of only 10 players to win the cup with 3 different teams.

After becoming the Islander’s head coach in ’73, Al would eventually lead the team to 4 consecutive Stanley Cup championships. He retired after the ‘94 season, having led the Islanders to a second playoff berth where they were swept in the first round by the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers, who went on to capture the Stanley Cup. At that time Al had won 739 games as an Islander coach, and a banner with that number was raised to the rafters at the Coliseum on January 25, 1997.

On November 3, 2007, Al Arbour returned to the Coliseum, at the request of Islanders coach Ted Nolan, to coach his 1,500th game for the Islanders. At age 75, Al became the oldest man ever to coach a National Hockey League game. The Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2, giving Al his 740th win. The 739 win banner was brought down, and replaced with one with the number 1500, representing the number of games coached. When the banner was lifted to the rafters, Al was joined by the entire Islanders team, his family, and various Islander alumni, including Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, and Pat LaFontaine.

Pat Lafontaine:

Pat is New York hockey personified. He spent his entire career playing for only New York-based teams; the Islanders from ‘83 – ‘91, the Sabres from ‘91 – ‘97, and the Rangers from ‘97 until his retirement in ‘98, having scored 468 goals and 1,013 points along the way before his career was ended by a series of unfortunate concussions. His 1.17 points per game (1,013 points over 865 games) is the best among American-born ice hockey players, active or retired. He was drafted 3rd overall in the 1983 draft by the Islanders.

As far as Islanders history goes, Lafontaine is probably most famous for the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs, where he scored the winning goal in the 4th OT period of game 7 between the Islanders and the Capitals, known as the "Easter Epic". The game was started on Saturday, April 18, and concluded just before 2 a.m. on the 19, Easter Sunday. "It was the most memorable moment in my hockey life," said Lafontaine. "Even today, wherever I go, people come up to me and start telling me where they were during the Easter Epic."