New York Islanders

# seasons – 48

Record –   1,688-1,587-347-166 (3,889 points)

Playoff appearances – 27

Stanley Cups – 4

First player: Gerry Desjardins G   1st round 1972 NHL Expansion Draft (June 6th, 1972).

First-ever Draft Selection: Billy Harris 1972, 1st overall   

Highest Draft selection: Billy Harris 1972, 1st overall    Denis Potvin 1973, 1st overall                     Rick DiPietro 2000, 1st overall         John Tavares 2009, 1st overall

HOFers – Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, Pat LaFontaine, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier

Retired #’s –  #5- Denis Potvin, #9- Clark Gillies, #19- Bryan Trottier, #22- Mike Bossy, #23- Bob Nystrom, #27- John Tonelli, #31- Billy Smith, #91- Butch Goring

Leaders

                Games Played – Bryan Trottier, 1,123

Goals – Mike Bossy, 573

                Assists – Bryan Trottier, 853

                Points – Bryan Trottier, 1,353

                Plus/minus – Bryan Trottier, +467

                Penalty Minutes – Mick Vukota, 1,879

                Power Play Goals – Mike Bossy, 180

                Shorthanded Goals – Anders Kallur, 19

                Hat Tricks – Mike Bossy, 39

                Goalie Wins – Billy Smith, 304

                Goals Against Average – Semyon Varlamov, 2.36

                Save pct. – Semyon Varlamov, .921

                Shutouts – Glenn Resch, 25

Coaching Wins Leader – Al Arbour, 740

Team Captains

Ed Westfall 1972-77

Clark Gillies 1977-79

Denis Potvin 1979-87

Brent Sutter 1987-92

Pat Flatley 1991-96

Bryan McCabe 1997-98

Trevor Linden 1997-99

Kenny Jonsson 1999-01

Michael Peca 2001-04

Alexei Yashin 2005-07

Bill Guerin 2007-09

Doug Weight 2009-11

Mark Streit 2011-13

John Tavares 2013-18

Anders Lee 2018-

Quotables…

“If you’re built like a freight train, you can’t drive around like a Volkswagen.” – Clark Gillies

“It’s lacrosse that helped teach me to spin off checks, take shots, and protect the puck under pressure.” – John Tavares

Did you know…
… The Islanders are 4-1 in Stanley Cup Finals appearances. All 5 Finals appearances were consecutive (1980, ‘81, ‘82, ‘83, and ‘84).
… The Isles’ Nassau County home was called both “Fort Never Lose” and “The Mausoleum.” 
… The 1975 New York Islanders carted around elephant poop in a sack throughout their 3-0 series deficit comeback over the Pittsburgh Penguins. They had played the New York Rangers in the previous series while the circus was at Madison Square Garden.
… The dynastic Islanders of the early 1980’s started the playoff beard tradition.
… The Islanders are the only team in NHL history with four consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy winners (B. Trottier-80, B. Goring-81, M. Bossy-82, B. Smith-83).
… The Islanders went from last in team goals against average in 2017-18 to 1st in 2018-19 under new coach Barry Trotz. It was the 1st time in NHL history a team went from last in GAA to 1st in back-to-back seasons. 
… The Islanders of the early 1980’s were the 7th of 8 NHL dynasties.
… Mike Bossy is the only player to score back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning goals (1982 and 1983).
… Mike Bossy scored 6+ goals in a season an NHL-record 5 times (tied with W. Gretzky).    

 

Quotables…

“We’re the best that ever skated, and if anyone doesn’t believe it they’re just kidding themselves.” – Denis Potvin