The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Islanders and the crosstown New York Rangers, as well as the nearby New Jersey Devils, are all members of the NHL's Atlantic Division, guaranteeing plenty of regular season meetings. This is unique among New York City's major league sports teams; Major League Baseball's New York Yankees (AL) and New York Mets (NL) are in different leagues. New York's National Football League teams, the New York Jets (AFC) and New York Giants (NFC), are in different conferences, giving them little opportunity to play each other.

Facts

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Founded: 1972

Arena: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Uniform colors: dark blue, orange, white

Logo design: a circle with "NY", with the base of the "Y" forming a stylized hockey stick, a map of Long Island, and the word "ISLANDERS"

Alternate logo design: four diagonal hash marks, alternating between white and orange (home jersey) or blue and orange (road jersey)

Main Rivals: New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers

Division Championships: 6 - 1977-78, 1978-79, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1983-84, 1987-88

Conference Championships: 6 - 1977-78, 1978-79, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84

Most Points in NHL: 3 times - 1978-79, 1980-81, 1981-82

Stanley Cup Finals appearances: 5 - 1979-80 (defeated Philadelphia, 4-2), 1980-81 (defeated Minnesota, 4-1), 1981-82 (defeated Vancouver, 4-0), 1982-83 (defeated Edmonton, 4-0), 1983-84 (lost to Edmonton, 1-4)

Stanley Cup Championships: 4 - 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83

Television: FSN New York, FSN New York 2, MSG, TV55

Franchise history

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1970s

With the impending start of the World Hockey Association in the fall of 1972, the upstart league had plans to place its New York team in the brand-new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County. However, Nassau County officials did not consider the WHA a professional league and wanted nothing to do with the upstart New York Raiders. The only legal way to do so was to get an NHL team to play in the Coliseum, so William Shea, who had helped bring the New York Mets to the area a decade earlier, was pressed into service once again. Shea found a receptive ear in league president Clarence Campbell, who did not want the additional competition in the New York area. So, despite having expanded to 14 teams just two years before, the NHL hastily awarded a Long Island franchise to Roy Boe, owner of the American Basketball Association's New York Nets. A second expansion franchise was awarded to Atlanta (the Flames) at the same time to balance the schedule. The new team was widely expected to take the Long Island Ducks name used by an Eastern Hockey League franchise; the unimaginative "Islanders" name came as something of a surprise.

The fledgling Islanders -- who soon were nicknamed the Isles by the local tabloids (the nickname has stuck) -- had an extra burden to pay in the form of a $4 million territorial fee to the nearby New York Rangers. The Rangers have been the Islanders' biggest rivals ever since.

While the Islanders secured veteran forward Ed Westfall from the Boston Bruins in the expansion draft, junior league star Billy Harris in the amateur draft, and a few other respectable players, several other draftees jumped to the WHA. General Manager Bill Torrey was committed to building his team with young players via shrewd selections in the amateur draft. In the team's first season, young players such as goaltender Billy Smith and forwards Bob Nystrom and Lorne Henning were given chances to prove themselves in the NHL. However, this young and inexperienced expansion team was one of the worst teams in NHL history – winning only 12 games and tying 6, while losing 60.

The prize for finishing last in the NHL would be the right to pick first in the 1973 amateur draft. Despite several lucrative offers from Montreal, Torrey refused to part with his opportunity to draft junior superstar defenseman Denis Potvin. That same summer, Torrey made perhaps the most critical move in the history of the franchise when he convinced St. Louis Blues coach Al Arbour to come to Long Island. Even with Potvin, the team still finished last in the East in its second year. However, under Arbour the team showed signs of respectability. While still long out of playoff contention, they cut their goals against by 100 and their 56 points represented a healthy 26-point improvement from the previous season. It turned out to be the team's last losing season for 15 years.

In 1975, the Islanders made one of the biggest turnarounds in NHL history. Led by Potvin, forwards Harris, Nystrom, Clark Gillies, and goaltenders Smith and Glenn Resch, the Islanders earned 88 points--32 more than the previous season--and earned their first playoff berth. They stunned the rival New York Rangers in a best-of-3 first-round series. The Islanders won the series in the third game as J.P. Parise scored just eleven 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-seven series, the Islanders rallied to win the next four - one of only three times that has happened in any of the major North American professional sports (along with the 1941-42 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2004 Boston Red Sox). It almost happened a second time in the same season, 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 Islanders continued their stunning climb up the NHL standings in 1975-76, earning 101 points--the first 100-point season in franchise history, in only their fourth year of existence. Few teams in any major sport came so far so fast. It would be the first of four consecutive 100-point seasons to close out the 1970s, including the first two division titles in franchise history. The 1978-79 unit would earn the best regular-season record in the league; the 116 points earned that year was the second-best in franchise history to date.

However, regular-season success was not rewarded in the playoffs. In 1976 and 1977, the Islanders were knocked out in the second round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Canadiens. The Canadiens were 24-3 in the playoffs in those two years - all three losses to the Islanders. In 1978, they were upset in the quarterfinal in overtime of game 7 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1978-79, 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 Rangers that year. Suddenly, there were whispers that the Islanders would always be the bridesmaid, never the bride. (Just as galling was the graphic on the Madison Square Garden scoreboard after the Blueshirts eliminated the Isles -- a rendering of a broken-up Long Island.)

Amid the on-ice success, the Islanders' off-ice fortunes were on shaky ground. Boe was losing money on both the Islanders and the Nets even as the Islanders quickly surged to NHL prominence and the Nets became an ABA power. It came to a head in 1976, when the Nets were one of four ABA teams taken into the NBA (they had actually wanted to bolt a year earlier, but were forced to stay in the ABA by court order). However, in addition to the $3 million franchise fee, the Nets had to pay an additional $4.8 million to the New York Knicks for "invading" the Knicks' NBA territory. Boe was forced to sell the Nets' best player, Julius Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets promptly crashed into the cellar only a year after winning the last ABA title, and the team never fully recovered until the early 2000s.

The cash shorts trickled down to the Islanders as well. Eventually, Boe was forced to unload both his teams. He readily found a buyer for the Nets, but had less luck finding one for the Islanders. He eventually found one in businessman John Pickett, Jr., who largely left the day-to-day operations in Torrey's hands. Pickett got a huge assist from a lucrative cable contract with the fledgling Sportschannel New York. SportsChannel's owner, Charles Dolan, thought the up-and-coming team would be a perfect centerpiece for his new network. Dolan gave Pickett a long-term guaranteed contract intended to not only keep the team on Long Island, but give area governments an incentive to renew his cable contracts. The Islanders have been on the network, now known as Fox Sports Net New York, for over a quarter-century.

1980s

In 1980, the Islanders dropped below the 100-point mark for the first time in five years, with only 91 points. However, they finally broke through and won the Stanley Cup. Trottier and Bossy once again provided a 1-2 punch on offense, and Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis were traded for the key addition, Butch Goring, but it was Nystrom that proved to be the hero, scoring in overtime in the sixth game of the Stanley Cup Finals at the Coliseum to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, in what remains one of the most dramatic goals in NHL history. (It helped that Game 6 was broadcast on national TV as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular series.)

The Islanders dominated the next two seasons. Bossy scored 50 goals in 50 games in 1981, and the Islanders knocked off the Minnesota North Stars in five games to win their second Cup. In 1981-82 the Islanders won a then-record 15 straight games en route to a franchise-record 118 points. 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 Cup.

The Islanders almost made it five straight, but they lost in five games to the Oilers in the 1984 finals. During their championship run, the Islanders won 19 straight playoff series, the longest streak in the history of professional sports (one more than the Boston Celtics 1959-1967). They remained competitive for the rest of the decade, playing in one of the most famous games in franchise and Stanley Cup history in the 1987 playoffs, the "Easter Epic" versus the Washington Capitals,and even winning another division title in 1988, two years after Arbour retired.

However, Pickett began to keep the money from the sweetheart cable deal with Dolan rather than pour it back into the team as he had in years past. Although it didn't become clear for awhile, it kept Torrey from finding replacements as the team's stars--Bossy, Goring, Potvin, Nystrom and Gillies--either retired or finished their careers elsewhere. The collapse came in 1988-89. Only a year after winning the division, the Islanders crashed to 61 points--last in the division, and tying the Quebec Nordiques for the worst record in the league. It was the Islanders' first losing season and first time out of the playoffs since their second season. Smith, the last remaining original Islander, retired after the season.

1990s

Arbour came out of retirement to finish the 1988-89 season, and the Islanders rebounded to get back in the playoffs in 1990. With players like Pierre Turgeon, Derek King, Ray Ferraro, Steve Thomas and Benoit Hogue, the Islanders were an occasionally competitive team in the early 1990s. Torrey stepped down as GM in 1992 to help organize the expansion Florida Panthers. 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 Washington Capitals enforcer Dale Hunter drilled Turgeon from behind while Turgeon was celebrating a goal. Hunter received a then-record 21-game suspension. They defeated heavy favorites and defending Stanley Cup champions, the Mario Lemieux-led Pittsburgh Penguins, when David Volek scored in overtime of the deciding seventh game in the second round of the playoffs, before bowing out to the eventual champion Canadiens in five games in the conference finals. They barely squeezed into the playoffs the next season, getting swept in the first round by the eventual champion Rangers.

By 1996, Turgeon ended up in Montreal, Hogue in Toronto, Ferraro with the cross-town Rangers and King's performance had dropped off considerably. It became increasingly obvious that Torrey's replacement as GM, Don Maloney, had done an exceptionally poor job drafting in past seasons. The Isles missed the playoffs each year between 1995 and 2001. Kirk Muller, whom the Islanders acquired in exchange for Turgeon, refused to play for a team that wasn't a contender. He only played 45 games for the team before being traded to Toronto. The Isles' attempt at updating their look resulted in the unveiling of the "Fisherman" logo in 1995; it proved to be so unpopular among Islander fans, and fervently mocked by fans of the rival Rangers and Devils (who continue to refer to the Islanders as "fishsticks", due to the logo's resemblance to the Gorton's Fisherman) that after less than two years the team's original logo was brought back.

During their lean years, the Isles' humiliation was hardly limited to their on-ice product. Dallas businessman John Spano purchased the team in 1996, Within three months of the deal closing in 1997, he still hadn't paid Pickett the first installment on the cable deal. Evidence surfaced that Spano had deliberately misled the NHL and the Islanders about his net worth. An investigation by Newsday revealed that Spano also had two lawsuits pending against him. The team reverted 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. He was sentenced to six years in prison for bank and wire fraud. The NHL was embarrassed when reports surfaced that it had only spent $750 to check Spano's background, and subsequently stiffened the process for vetting future owners.

Pickett finally found a buyer in a group led by Howard Milstein and Phoenix Coyotes co-owner Steven Gluckstern. Even that deal almost fell through when Spectacor Management Group, which managed the Coliseum for Nassau County, in an unprecedented move, tried to force Pickett to certify that the Coliseum was safe. SMG backed down under pressure from the Islanders, the league and county officials. Initially the team made numerous trades in an effort to create a better team, trading such popular young players as Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan McCabe, but this group eventually ran the team on an austere budget in an attempt to make a profit. Milstein repeatedly cried poverty while claiming that he couldn't, or perhaps simply wouldn't, invest more money in the Islanders' payroll, all while coming up with hundreds of millions of dollars in aborted attempts to purchase the NFL's Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns. Eventually, under Milstein and Gluckstern, popular players who made more than $1M US – 40+ goal scorer Zigmund Palffy, captain Trevor Linden, 1997 Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Bryan Berard, and rugged defenseman Rich Pilon – were all traded or released. In 2000, Milstein and Gluckstern sold the team to Computer Associates executives Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar.

2000 to Current Day

With stable ownership finally in place, the team's fortunes began to improve. In time for the 2001-02 season, the Islanders made three key acquisitions. The Islanders traded for centers Alexei Yashin from the Ottawa Senators, and Michael Peca from the Buffalo Sabres. The Islanders were also able to claim goaltender Chris Osgood with the first pick in the waiver draft, adding a former championship goaltender without giving up any players in exchange. The Islanders opened the season on a tear, going 11-1-1-1, and easily made the 2002 playoffs before bowing out to the Maple Leafs in a very physical first round series, 4-3. That playoff series was one of the best that the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs had to offer. Neither team won a road game. One of the most exciting moments of that series took place in Game 4 when Shawn Bates scored on a penalty shot with a little over a minute to go to give them the lead and ultimately the game. In Game 5, Gary Roberts charged Islander defenseman Kenny Jonsson and Darcy Tucker submarined Peca, the Islanders' captain, with a questionable check. Niether Jonsson nor Peca returned in the series. Despite the promise shown in the Toronto series, the Islanders' playoff woes have continued; in 2003, they lost a first-round series to the Ottawa Senators and in 2004, they lost to the 2004 Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning four games to one.

Following the 2004-05 NHL lockout which eliminated the 2004-2005 NHL Season, the Islanders have made many changes to its roster to increase offense. Michael Peca was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for speedy center Mike York. The same day, winger Miroslav Satan was signed to play alongside center Alexei Yashin. The team also remade their defensive corps, replacing departed free agents Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik and Jonsson, who left the NHL to play in his native Sweden, with Alexei Zhitnik, Brad Lukowich, and Brent Sopel. The team played inconsistent hockey and as a result did not qualify for the playoffs.

On January 12, 2006, Mike Milbury fired Steve Stirling and named assistant Brad Shaw the interim head coach. Milbury also announced that he would step down as general manager once a successor was found.

On March 4, 2006, the Islander organization honored the 25th anniversary of the 1980 Stanley Cup Champion team with special ceremonies prior to their scheduled game with the Philadelphia Flyers (their opponent in the 1980 finals). Activties included bringing back most of the players as well as GM Bill Torrey and coach Al Arbour for a "Walk of Champions" leading into the building, accompanied by the Stanley Cup, and tributes to the team once inside. This was actually the 26th anniversary of that breakthrough team; however, the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season prevented it from being held as scheduled.

On May 31, 2006, the Islanders announced the addition of Bryan Trottier to the front office as Executive Director of Player Development. The following week, on June 7, the Islanders announced the hiring of Neil Smith as GM and Ted Nolan as head coach. They also announced that Pat LaFontaine would return to the Islanders as Senior Advisor to the Owner.

Season-by-season record

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Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses/Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1972-73	78	12	60	6	--	30	170	347	881	8th in East	Out of Playoffs
1973-74	78	19	41	18	--	56	182	247	1075	8th in East	Out of Playoffs
1974-75	80	33	25	22	--	88	264	221	1118	3rd in Patrick	Lost Semifinal (PHI)
1975-76	80	42	21	17	--	101	297	190	1277	2nd in Patrick	Lost Semifinal (MTL)
1976-77	80	47	21	12	--	106	288	193	1012	2nd in Patrick	Lost Semifinal (MTL)
1977-78	80	48	17	15	--	111	334	210	938	1st in Patrick	Lost Quarterfinal (TOR)
1978-79	80	51	15	14	--	116	358	214	1077	1st in Patrick	Lost Semifinal (NYR)
1979-80	80	39	28	13	--	91	281	247	1298	2nd in Patrick	Won Stanley Cup (PHI)
1980-81	80	48	18	14	--	110	355	260	1442	1st in Patrick	Won Stanley Cup (MIN)
1981-82	80	54	16	10	--	118	385	250	1328	1st in Patrick	Won Stanley Cup (VAN)
1982-83	80	42	26	12	--	96	302	226	1266	2nd in Patrick	Won Stanley Cup (EDM)
1983-84	80	50	26	4	--	104	357	269	1157	1st in Patrick	Lost Stanley Cup Final (EDM)
1984-85	80	40	34	6	--	86	345	312	1516	3rd in Patrick	Lost in Division Final (PHI)
1985-86	80	39	29	12	--	90	327	284	1343	3rd in Patrick	Lost Division Semifinal (WSH)
1986-87	80	35	33	12	--	82	279	281	1857	3rd in Patrick	Lost Division Final (PHI)
1987-88	80	39	31	10	--	88	308	267	1732	1st in Patrick	Lost Division Semifinal (NJ)
1988-89	80	28	47	5	--	61	265	325	1822	6th in Patrick	Out of Playoffs
1989-90	80	31	38	11	--	73	281	288	1777	4th in Patrick	Lost Division Semifinal (NYR)
1990-91	80	25	45	10	--	60	223	290	1723	6th in Patrick	Out of Playoffs
1991-92	80	34	35	11	--	79	291	299	1713	5th in Patrick	Out of Playoffs
1992-93	84	40	37	7	--	87	335	297	1701	3rd in Patrick	Lost Conference Final (MTL)
1993-94	84	36	36	12	--	84	282	264	1787	4th in Atlantic	Lost Conference Quarterfinal (NYR)
1994-951	48	15	28	5	--	35	126	158	901	7th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1995-96	82	22	50	10	--	54	229	315	1669	7th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1996-97	82	29	41	12	--	70	240	250	1640	7th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1997-98	82	30	41	11	--	71	212	225	1646	4th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1998-99	82	24	48	10	--	58	194	244	1111	5th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1999-00	82	24	49	8	1	57	194	275	1376	5th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
2000-01	82	21	51	7	3	52	185	268	1339	5th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
2001-02	82	42	28	8	4	96	239	220	1255	2nd in Atlantic	Lost Conference Quarterfinal (TOR)
2002-03	82	35	34	11	2	83	224	231	1244	3rd in Atlantic	Lost Conference Quarterfinal (OTT)
2003-04	82	38	29	11	4	91	237	210	1168	3rd in Atlantic	Lost Conference Quarterfinal (TB)
2004-052	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2005-06	82	36	40	--	6	78	230	278	1299	4th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs

¹ Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.

² Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Players

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Current squad

As of July 11, 2006 ^*

Goaltenders
Number		Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
30		Garth Snow	L	2001	Wrentham, Massachusetts
39		Rick DiPietro	R	2000	Winthrop, Massachusetts

Defensemen
Number		Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
-		Brendan Witt	L	2006	Humboldt, Saskatchewan
3		Denis Grebeshkov	L	2006	Yaroslavl, U.S.S.R.
4		Joel Bouchard	L	2005	Montreal, Quebec
14		Chris Campoli	L	2004	North York, Ontario
24		Radek Martinek	R	1999	Havlickuv Brod, Czechoslovakia
44		John Erskine	R	2006	Kingston, Ontario
77		Alexei Zhitnik - A	L	2005	Kyiv, U.S.S.R.
-		Tom Poti	L	2006	Worcester, Massachusetts

Forwards
Number		Player	Shoots	Position	Acquired	Place of Birth
0		Chris Simon	L	LW	2006	Wawa, Ontario
0		Andy Hilbert	L	C/LW	2006	Howell, Michigan
0		Mike Sillinger	R	C	2006	Regina, Saskatchewan
7		Trent Hunter	R	RW	2000	Red Deer, Alberta
10		Sean Bergenheim	L	LW	2002	Helsinki, Finland
15		Jeff Tambellini	L	LW	2006	Port Moody, British Columbia
16		Mike York - A	R	LW/C	2005	Waterford, Michigan
17		Shawn Bates	R	C	2001	Melrose, Massachusetts
21		Robert Nilsson	L	C	2003	Calgary, Alberta
28		Wyatt Smith	L	C	2005	Thief River Falls, Minnesota
29		Petteri Nokelainen	R	C	2004	Imatra, Finland
45		Arron Asham	R	RW	2002	Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
49		Eric Godard	R	RW	2002	Vernon, British Columbia
55		Jason Blake	L	C/LW	2001	Moorhead, Minnesota
79		Alexei Yashin - C	R	C	2002	Yekaterinburg, U.S.S.R.
81		Miroslav Satan	L	RW	2005	Topolcany, Czechoslovakia

Hall of Famers

• Mike Bossy (inducted 1991)
• Denis Potvin (inducted 1991)
• Billy Smith (inducted 1993)
• Bill Torrey (inducted 1995)
• Al Arbour (inducted 1996)
• Bryan Trottier (inducted 1997)
• Clark Gillies (inducted 2002)
• Pat LaFontaine (inducted 2003)

Team captains

• Ed Westfall 1972-76
• Ed Westfall & Clark Gillies 1976-77
• Clark Gillies 1977-79
• Denis Potvin 1979-87
• Brent Sutter 1987-91
• Brent Sutter & Patrick Flatley 1991-92
• Patrick Flatley 1992-96
• No captain 1996-97
• Bryan McCabe & Trevor Linden 1997-98
• Trevor Linden 1998-99
• Kenny Jonsson 1999-00
• No captain 2000-01
• Michael Peca 2001-05
• Alexei Yashin 2005- present

Retired numbers

• 5 Denis Potvin, D, 1973-88
• 9 Clark Gillies, LW, 1974-86
• 19 Bryan Trottier, C, 1975-90
• 22 Mike Bossy, RW, 1977-87
• 23 Bob Nystrom, RW, 1973-86
• 31 Billy Smith, G, 1972-89
• 99 Wayne Gretzky (retired league-wide by the NHL)
• 739 Al Arbour, Head Coach, 1973-86 & 1988-94 (in honor of his 739 regular season coaching wins with the Islanders)
• Bill Torrey, General Manager, 1972-92 (his banner features the words "The Architect" and a bowtie, which was his trademark, in place of a number)

NHL ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

• 1989 - David Volek
• 1993 - Vladimir Malakhov
• 1997 - Bryan Berard
• 2004 - Trent Hunter

FIRST ALL-STAR TEAM

• 1975 - Denis Potvin
• 1976 - Denis Potvin
• 1978 - Denis Potvin, Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies
• 1979 - Denis Potvin, Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies
• 1981 - Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy
• 1983 - Mike Bossy
• 1984 -Mike Bossy
• 1986 - Mike Bossy

SECOND ALL-STAR TEAM

• 1976 - Glenn Resch
• 1977 - Denis Potvin
• 1978 - Mike Bossy
• 1979 - Mike Bossy, Glenn Resch
• 1982 -Bryan Trottier, John Tonelli
• 1983 - Roland Melanson
• 1984 - Bryan Trottier, John Tonelli
• 1985 - Mike Bossy, John Tonelli