List of New York Islanders players

Jaroslav Halak in front of his goalie net
Jaroslav Halak, former goaltender for the New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York, United States. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Eastern Conference. The Islanders franchise has been a part of the NHL since their inception in 1972, playing their home games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 1972–2015, 2018–21, Barclays Center 2015–20, and at UBS Arena 2021–present. Over 500 players have played for the team for at least one regular season or playoff game, and nearly 20 have had multiple stints over the years.[1]

The Islanders have won the Stanley Cup four consecutive times (1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983),[2] with a total of 32 players playing for the team throughout those four wins. Sixteen players (Mike Bossy, Bob Bourne, Clark Gillies, Butch Goring, Anders Kallur, Gord Lane, Dave Langevin, Wayne Merrick, Ken Morrow, Bob Nystrom, Stefan Persson, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Duane Sutter, John Tonelli and Bryan Trottier) have been a part of all four Cup wins, and three more (Billy Carroll, Mike McEwen and Roland Melanson) have won three with the team. The Islanders have retired eight numbers: 5 (Denis Potvin), 9 (Clark Gillies), 19 (Bryan Trottier), 22 (Mike Bossy), 23 (Bob Nystrom), 27 (John Tonelli), 31 (Billy Smith) and 91 (Butch Goring).[3]

Fifteen players have captained the team, beginning with Ed Westfall.[4] Denis Potvin holds the record for the longest captaincy period, as he led the team from 1979 to 1987.[5] The shortest captaincy period was held by Bryan McCabe, who only served for 56 regular season games.[6] There have been two seasons where the Islanders did not have a captain: 1996–97 and 2000–01.[2][7] The team's current captain is Anders Lee, who was appointed on October 4, 2018, succeeding John Tavares, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 18-19 offseason.[8]

  1. ^ "New York Islanders all-time player roster". Internet Hockey Database. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Key Islanders Dates". New York Islanders.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  3. ^ "New York Islanders History". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "The 10 Greatest N.Y. Islanders". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  5. ^ "Denis Potvin". The Internet Hockey Database. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  6. ^ "Bryan McCabe". The Internet Hockey Database. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  7. ^ Stephenson, Colin (May 10, 1996). "Isles say buy to Flatley". Daily News. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  8. ^ "Islanders name Lee Team Captain". NHL.com. New York Islanders PR. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.