New York Islanders: A to Z will introduce a new generation of fans to the legendary players, magical moments, and colorful 50-year history of the Islanders.
Contributions from Brendan Burke, Stan Fischler, Chris King, and Jiggs McDonald.
You can purchase it HERE
A portion of the proceeds goes to the Islanders Children’s Foundation.
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
You never forget your first.
This week reminded me of some of my New York Islanders’ firsts.
My first love on the ice was Pierre Turgeon. As a 10-year-old challenged by his older cousin to become a hockey fan, I fell for the Isles and Pierre during the memorable 1992-93 season.
Yes, he was the team’s star, but there was a flare, grace, and class to Turgeon that was unique and special even to the most seasoned fan. As Stan Fischler wrote in ‘The Hockey News,” Turgeon’s “forte was a blend of savvy to go with smoothness.”
On Wednesday, Turgeon was named to the 2023 class of the Hockey Hall of Fame after a prolific NHL career. The first overall pick of the 1987 draft scored 515 goals and 812 assists in 1,294 career games, spanning 18 seasons and six teams. He may have played more games with the St. Louis Blues (327) and Buffalo Sabres (322), but he was at his best during his four seasons with the Islanders, scoring 147 goals in just 255 games, the most he tallied with any team.
After experiencing playoff hockey for the first time (I was there for Game 3 vs. the Caps to see Ray Ferraro’s first OT winner), the following year, I was gifted my first Isles sweater, a home white jersey. It was blank on the back but wouldn’t be for long. I went to a local sporting goods store on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn and had them iron No. 77 on the back and sleeves with “Turgeon” across the top with solid royal blue lettering.
I wore it proudly throughout the 1993-94 season, naively thinking that team would have another magical spring and upset the New York Rangers in the first round. That embarrassing playoff defeat and watching the Blueshirts win the Cup hurt, but it failed compared to the devastation I felt when learning that GM Don Maloney had traded my favorite player to the Montreal Canadiens.
That Isles sweater I had with No. 77? I couldn’t wear it anymore. I know some of you wear former players’ sweaters all the time. I couldn’t do it. I returned to that same sporting goods store, and they steamed off “Turgeon” and the numbers. You could still see them if you looked closely, so I asked them to put Bossy and No. 22 on instead. There was no risk of the Hall-of-Famers jersey, whose banner hung for the Nassau Coliseum’s rafters, ever going out of style.
I was thrilled to see Turgeon make the Hall of Fame and love how he continues to show up at Isles alumni games showing off his flawless wrist shot. It was a short but special time on Long Island, and his involvement shows he knows it too.
I never got another player’s jersey … until Michael Peca.
The former Islanders captain will be an assistant coach for former Islanders coach Peter Laviolette with the New York Rangers next season. Ugh.
If the 1992-93 team was love at first sight, the 2001-02 Isles were my first serious relationship. At 19, I was ready for a more mature, meaningful connection with my hockey franchise.
By now, I was watching almost every game - quite the task for the late ’90s! I’ll admit, as a teenager, I saw things through orange and blue glasses and was far less cynical than I am today, actually believing what Mike Milbury was selling year after year and getting way too excited about every prospect he talked up.
By the 2001-02 season, the Islanders had gone seven seasons without the post-season. There was little reason to believe that year would be any different after Milbury tabbed a 36-year-old with Boston roots in Laviollete to be head coach, replacing Lorne Henning, who replaced Butch Goring the prior season.
But then, in June, everything changed.
The Islanders paid a hefty price for Alexei Yashin, an imperfect star, and Peca, widely regarded as one of the best leaders and defensive forwards in the league. His presence would give the team instant credibility with fans, the media, and opponents. Everything came together once the team received the waiver wire gift of Chris Osgood from the Detroit Red Wings. “Ozzie” would stand out in multiple ways during the early part of the season, wearing his bright red pads on dark navy blue hockey pants.
It may be hard for the younger generation of Isles fans to understand just how ridiculous it felt to watch the Islanders start that season 11-1-1-1. They were dead last in the NHL the prior season with a 21-51-10 record, and for a month, they were the best team in the league, and a spot in the playoffs felt all but assured after an extended time away.
That Christmas, my college girlfriend bought me a Peca home jersey. This time the letters and numbers were sewn on, as was the captain “C.” I’d wear it proudly to Game 3 in the Coliseum’s return to playoff hockey against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was a whiteout. It was wild. It was wonderful.
Like Turgeon, who was decked by Dale Hunter following his goal in Game 6 vs. the Caps, Peca was injured by a cheap shot as Darcy Tucker hip-checked him below the knee in Game 5. Peca, who had scored 25 goals and 35 assists that season and would win the Selke, tore his MCL and ACL and would miss the start of the next season. In 2005, he was unceremoniously traded to the Edmonton Oilers for Mike York. The sweater - only worn a handful of times, is in the attic.
As you get older, you still have your favorite players, but it’s not the same. It can’t be. Those players will never be your hero, your idol, or someone you look up to and emulate. Turgeon and Peca filled those roles for young, impressionable me. Two players, two teams that make you fall in love with the Islanders and sign you up for all the heartache and disappointment that comes with it.
Coming up, the pre-season schedule is released, and Samuel Bolduc earns a one-way trip to Long Island. Plus, Anders Lee is honored to be honored; the Barry Trotz hire was five years ago, and it’s Friday, and I’m in love.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders officially announced their pre-season schedule on Thursday, a day after it was first reported by Stefan Rosner in The Hockey News. The NHL regular season schedule will be announced at some time next week, and though the pre-season is meaningless for most, it's a critical time for young prospects and players fighting for a job to make an impression.
BOLDUC SIGNS TWO-YEAR DEAL
Earlier in the week, 22-year-old defenseman Samuel Bolduc, a pending RFA, signed a two-year one-way deal with the team, a strong indication that the Isles expect him to be at the NHL level next season.
The deal is worth $800k per season.
How much he plays could depend on whether UFA Scott Mayfield returns. If so, Bolduc and Sebastian Aho would be the presumed sixth and seventh defensemen. If not, the Islanders will need to search elsewhere for depth.
⏭ NEXT UP: The 2023 NHL Draft is scheduled for June 28–29, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Islanders currently own five picks after trading their 1st rounder to Vancouver for Bo Horvat and losing their 3rd round selection to Arizona to complete the Andrew Ladd deal.
The five picks they have are No. 49, 113, 145, 177, 209
HONORED: Islanders captain Anders Lee is one of the three finalists for the King Clancy Award, to be announced on Monday night from Nashville at the league’s award show. Newsday’s Andrew Gross caught up with Lee this week and asked him what it meant to be up for the award.
“I’m very honored to be nominated for this,” Lee said. “To be able to go is a really special thing. The awards thing never felt like something I’d be at. It’ll be good to go and experience that and just bring a little attention to the great charity that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with.”
Gross writes about Lee’s experience with the Jam Kancer In The Kan Foundation to raise money for charity, including the three Kancer Jam team events Lee held.
Many fans first heard of Lee's affiliation with Jam Kancer through his relationship with Fenov Pierre-Louis, battling Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Fenov made appearances with Lee on the ice at Barclays Center and during the Jam Kancer events with Lee's teammates and friends. After a courageous battle, Fenov passed away on July 18, 2018, but the impact he made on Lee continues.
“With our foundation and the things we do, so much of that has become honoring Fenov and kids like him that didn’t have the chance to fully live their dreams,” Lee said. “For us, he made such an impact on all of us. His wisdom for how youthful he was, was really incredible. It was humbling to be around him and very grounding.”
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On June 21, 2018, just weeks after winning the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals, GM Lou Lamoriello made the culture-shifting move of hiring Barry Trotz as the team’s next head coach.
“It's good to be wanted,'' Trotz said. "It happened really quickly because you're going from one emotion of winning the Cup to the next emotion of leaving the team you just won a Cup with, and you have to make some quick decisions.”
The Isles had a 23-point improvement over 2017-18 in his first year and yielded an NHL-low 196 goals. Trotz was the recipient of the Jack Adams Award as the NHL coach of the year for the Isles’ remarkable turnaround.
📺 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast w/ James Nichols and Jon Zella: James and Jon tackle the latest signing - Samuel Bolduc - tracking the Semoyon Varlmov "News," and setting our expectations for the New York Islanders during the 2023-24 season.
🔗 Former Islander Pierre Turgeon elected to Hockey Hall of Fame as Butch Goring remains snubbed by Ethan Sears, New York Post “Butch Goring was not the former Islanders forward to receive the Hall of Fame call on Wednesday. Instead, Pierre Turgeon — an Islander from 1991-95 and the last player in franchise history to score more than 50 goals in a season — was a surprise selection to the Hall’s 2023 class, getting in over the likes of former Devils Alexander Mogilny and Patrik Elias, as well as Goring”
🔗 The Five Worst First-Round Draft Picks in NY Islanders History by Greg Liodice, Eyes on Isles “A wise man once said "The NHL Draft is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're going to get." OK, those may not be the exact words, but you get the picture. No matter how much research, scouting, and time teams put into the draft, no one ever really knows what will happen to these prospects.
And we leave you with this…a vintage photo of Robert Smith, lead singer of The Cure, wearing the original road fisherman jersey. The 64-year-old rocker and his band played at UBS Arena on June 20th.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter for regular updates until the next newsletter.
And please check out our newsletters about the Knicks and Mets, too.