New York Islanders Team History

The Islanders started in 1972 as a bid to keep the WHA’s (World Hockey Association) New York Raiders away. The Islanders current home, the Nassau Coliseum (which was brand new at the time) was trying to be pirated by the Raiders but the NHL stepped in an awarded a franchise to New York Nets (A.B.A) owner Roy Boe and the Islanders were born. Relegated to Long Island but still New Yorkers, the Islanders would use the NY colours of blue and orange to play in. The Islanders jerseys have not changed much since the 70’s. The home jerseys were mainly navy blue with thick orange and thick white stripes at the bottom and on the sleeves. The logo was a circle with the letters “NY” at the top with a hockey stick in place of the “Y”. A solid orange image of Long Island beneath it with the word “Islanders” arcing up around the bottom of the circle, with the “I” in Islanders pointing at the exact point on Long Island where the Nassau Coliseum is located.

In ’77 the player names were added in white with an orange outline on the home jerseys and blue with the orange outline on the away jerseys. In 1978 the striping would change on the away jersey and it helped because in these jerseys, the Islanders would go on to win 4 straight Stanley Cups making that team one of the 9 recognized dynasties in NHL history.

In 1995 the Islanders made a change to the jerseys that ended up being one of the biggest blunders in NHL uniform history. The new look was almost psychedelic; the navy blue and orange were still present but a teal blue was added to the scheme as well. The home jersey was mostly navy blue with a wave of a tail stripe of orange, white and teal. The neck yoke would follow the wave and be orange, white and silver. The sleeves have the same swirl of orange, white and teal to the cuff. The logo was drastically changed as well, the “island” was replaced with a “Captain Highliner” fisherman wearing a big rain slicker and holding a hockey stick with the word “Islanders” running across him with a few lines of swirled teal and orange beneath it. The player names and numbers also had the same “wave” look to them. The away jersey was exactly the same except for the navy blue sections were white.

A year later, to please fans the original logo was put back in place but the styling of the jersey remained the same. In 1998 the Islanders went back to their usual jerseys but added a shoulder patch with 4 alternating stripes to signify the 4 Stanley Cups.

In 2002, a third jersey was introduced bringing Islander orange to the front. The jersey was all orange with a navy blue neck yoke, navy blue from the cuff up to the elbow then it changes to orange and starts to point down in a star point at the bottom.

With the arrival of the Reebok Edge jersey the Islanders changed a few things. The home and away jerseys stayed relatively similar but with more orange on the sleeves and a new third was introduced using a lighter blue to replace the normal navy blue and added a bigger white section for the tail stripe.

All Time Esteemed Islanders
- Bryan Trottier C 1975-90
- Mike Bossy RW 1977-87
- Denis Potvin D 1973-88
- Clark Gillies LW 1974-86
- Brent Sutter C 1981-92
- Pat LaFontaine C 1983-91
- John Tonelli LW 1978-86
- Bob Bourne C 1975-86
- Bob Nystrom RW 1973-86
- Derek King LW 1986-97
- Bryan McCabe D 1995-98

Current Esteemed Islanders
- Martin Biron G 2009 –
- Rick DiPietro G 2000 –
- Kyle Okposo RW 2006 –
- Richard Park C 2006 –
- Jeff Tambellini LW 2006 –
- John Tavares C 2009 –
- Doug Weight C 2008 -

Recent Draft Picks
• 2006: Kyle Okposo (7th overall)
• 2007: none
• 2008: Josh Bailey (9th overall)
• 2009: John Tavares (1st overall) & Calvin de Haan (12th overall)

Affiliate Teams
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)
Odessa Jackalopes (CHL)