2009-10 New York Islanders
After finishing last in the Atlantic Division with 26-47-9 record, the New York Islanders were looking to the future to bring back some respectability to the franchise. With the #1 pick in the NHL Entry Draft, the Islanders selected John Tavares who they hoped would make an immediate impact on the team. He is currently the third leading scorer on the team with making 16 out of 17 goal shots. The team also signed a number of free agents to include Dwayne Roloson, Scott Munroe, Jeremy Reich, Mark Flood, Greg Mauldin, Matt Moulson, Greg Moore and Martin Biron. They also resigned Nate Thompson.
With all the moves, the team is still struggling as they are again in the Atlantic Division cellar with a 23-27-8. They have lost eight of their last ten games.
Previous Seasons
The New York Islanders came to Long Island in 1972 as the NHL expanded to bring their second team to the New York area. The Islanders were no better than most expansion teams in the NHL, finishing their first season with a meager 12 wins. By 1975 though, the Islanders had developed into a competitive team, locking in their first playoff appearance and advancing to the Conference Finals behind the leadership of head coach Al Arbour. The Islanders dusted off the New York Rangers in the first round, then came back from a 3-0 deficit in the 2nd round to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games. In the Conference Finals though, the Islanders fell to the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers.
New York came back in 1980 to claim their first Stanley Cup. After finishing the regular season at 39-28-13, the Islanders won a 4 game series with the Los Angeles Kings to advance to the second round. A pair f overtime wins in Boston propelled the Islanders to a series win over the Bruins after 5 games. It took 6 games against the Buffalo Sabres for the Islanders to advance to their first Stanley Cup Finals, where they would face off against the Philadelphia Flyers. Philadelphia took Game 1 in Philly with an overtime goal by Dennis Potvin. Another Flyers win in Game 2 was answered by back to back wins by New York to even the series at 2-2. A desperate overtime battle in Game 5 resulted in the Islanders' Bob Nystrom squeezing in the winning goal to give the New York islanders franchise their first Stanley Cup Championship.
The 1980 Stanley Cup win started an avalanche of Islander wins. For the next three years, New York dominated the Stanley Cup Finals, winning Cups in 1981, 1982, and 1983. The Islanders would fall 1 Stanley Cup short of the Montreal Canadiens record 5 straight wins though, as the Edmonton Oilers put a stop to the streak with a 5 Game series win in the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals. 10 subsequent playoff appearances between 1985 and 2004 failed to get the Islanders past the Conference Finals.
The New York Islanders Alezei Yashin will be front and center at the Nassau Veterans Coliseum in 2005-06. Yashin, along with wings Jason Blake and Mike York, will be leading the Islanders offensive assault. Garth Snow and Rick DiPietro handle the goaltending duties. The Islanders served up 38 wins last season and New York Islanders tickets won't be easy to get if New York lives up to their potential. So get your Islanders tickets now before the rush is on.
Free Agency was rough on the Islanders, as they lost several important players on day one – including favorite Ryan Smyth. But, there are positives. The buying of captain Alexei Yahsin was definitely smart, as well as the signings of Ruslan Fedotenko, Mike Comrie, Josef Vasicek, and Andy Sutton. And let’s not forget new Islander captain Bill Guerin. Islander management is slowly but surely building a team with seasoned vets who know what they are doing on the ice. And they are going to be fighters, but the playoffs don’t seem likely.
