New York Islanders fans and everyone associated with them must have breathed a sigh of relief when their team made it to the playoffs once again last season. It had been a long time coming but the groundwork for that had begun some time back. They haven’t relied on their past successes and have gone about strengthening their roster. The likes of Thomas Hickey, Josh Bailey and Evgeni Nabokov have all signed on the dotted line to make Isles more competitive. These are indeed very interesting times for a team that is looking to go to the top of the ladder once again.
New York Islanders have given their talisman, John Tavares, the captain’s armband this season. He was their main man last season and is expected to lead the line once again and remain in contention for the prestigious Hart Trophy all season long. Their new recruits will need to come to grips with how the team plays and if that happens then another postseason berth will not be beyond them. The franchise needs to prove that last season’s playoff appearance wasn’t just a flash in the pan moment by repeating the feat consistently. The road back in the limelight starts now and fans are expected to get their hands on to help their favorite team rise to the occasion once again.
The Beginning
The WHA wanted its team in New York to play at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum but the people running the venue didn’t want that. So they turned to William Shea, the guy who was instrumental in making sure that MLB’s New York Mets came to the city. He delivered once again and convinced NHL to award New York another team much to the chagrin of the already existing New York Rangers.
Play Begins
New York Islanders took to the ice rink for the first time in the 1972-1973 season. They compiled a 12-60-6 record which was nowhere close to being good enough. The campaign still had a few highlighting moments for Isles like the one where they beat the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Bruins. Next season was more or less the same but things were about to change.
Winning Seasons and Championships
Isles turned things around spectacularly in their third season to go 33-25-22 on their way to qualifying for the playoffs for the first time. Isles became consistent postseason players from that point onwards and managed to win the division and conference doubles to claim their first two titles by the end of the 1977-1978 season. They followed that up by repeating the trick next season but that was just the beginning of an era of dominance.
After winning the division and conference titles for two years straight, New York Islanders went one step further and added the Stanley Cup to their trophy collection at the end of 1979-1980 campaign. Two division, conference and Stanley Cup trebles followed the next two seasons to put Islanders right up there among the best in the business. The team went on to lift their fourth straight Stanley Cup and a third successive conference championship at the end of 1982-1983 season. Isles won the conference title next year too and then managed to do the division and conference double in 1984. Their sixth division and last major title came their way in the year 1988.
Slump
New York Islanders encountered a major slump after 1988. In the two dozen seasons they have competed in since then, they have made it to the playoff on only eight occasions. Their last postseason appearance before the previous one was in 2007 and that was when the groundwork began to take the team back to the top again. All the pieces look to be falling in place now which makes the next few years absolutely vital to what the future holds for Isles in the long run.