Who was your favorite Dynasty Isles player?
by OzzyFan on Oct 2, 2010 12:35 AM EDT
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PrintAs it is now, we all have different favorite islanders for different reasons. So this made me thinking about who would be everyone's favorite islander player from the dynasty era and why.
So instead of guessing and dreaming, I decided just to post it up. And for all the people that were too young to see the dynasty teams play, just go from stories that your dad or others have told you or games you have watched from Isles dvd's or on tv as reruns or even written words/stat-sheets about the players from the dynasty era. That's it in a nutshell. Vote in the poll and explain why if you can.
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I'm a big Potvin guy,
Yeah the others have a spot in my heart, Bossy especially because he is undoubtly one of the top 3 goal scorers of all time next to Lemieux and Gretzky right now, but Potvin had it all. And Potvin was unquestionably in my mind, the best overall/complete d-man ever that is not named Bobby Orr. Potvin was the captain, a PP QB, an agressive physical checker(hipchecking is what he’s known for), a tough bastage, a fighter, a great goalscorer, a great passer, a rare point per game d-man, a great defender, a leader, very intelligent, a good skater, top-tier all around skills, and he has the 4 cups to show for it. Potvin had it all. He truly was in my mind, the greatest all around player(defenseman obviously) to ever wear an islanders jersey, and will be extremely hard to be overtaken. Arguably, the greatest all around player of all-time. Arguably, lol.
Go isles or Go home.
Ditto...
When I was a kid and playing street hockey I always imagined myself as Denis Potvin. There are a lot of late 60’s and 70’s cars that were parked in my neighborhood that hold the evidence in torso shaped dents in doors and fenders.
Denis was THE most efficient defenseman I have ever seen. He was also the most complete hockey player I can remember. Of course there are plenty that I’ve only seen on a limited basis, but Denis had it all, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen (or heard) every game he played after 1975.
Nobody chants “Orr Sucks” in Montreal, or “Coffey is weak” in calgary… Denis HURT people when he hit them, he hurt teams with his offensive skills and he was part of the greatest team in ANY SPORT ANY TIME…
Fans younger than myself may never appreciate how great this franchise was… but just think of 19 straight playoff series wins… 4 cups… then the finals for a FIFTH consecutive year…. that is special, and Bobby Orr doesn’t have those creds.
After Denis is Howatt* and Gillies… then Bobby Ny, , Smitty, Trots, Bammer and then Boss… that’s a shitload of ticker right there… and when you add Butchie, Stephan and Bobby Bourne you win 19 straight playoff series…
*I’m pretty sure I’ve shared my Howatt (#8) story with LHH…
Forget about the LHP, BKLYN, Queens or Hamilton... Wang is moving the Islanders to The Nassau University Medical Center.
I loved Billy Smith. I adored Trottier, Bossy and Potvin, but as a young kid, all I remember about Billy was him swatting at anyone who got too close to him. I loved that about him. If I answer now, it would probably be one of the other three. But as a kid, growing up, I loved Billy Smith.
"Gretzky? You say Gretzky like it means something to me (WHACK!)" lol
Billy Smith had balls and is still arguably the greatest goalie of all-time. And is the greatest goalie of all time in a lot of our hearts.
Little story. I don’t remember which Stanley cup game or series or year, but I have a story from one of my Ranger Fan’s Grandpas. The grandpa is a HUGE hockey and Ranger fan and has told me tons of isles dynasty stories as has my dad. His grandpa met Billy Smith in a bank on LI the day of a game, and had a little chat with him. He said Billy was a short but big guy and a nice guy in person. At the end of the conversation, Billy told my friends grandpa “Watch the 2nd/3rd period of tonight’s game. I’m gonna chop the shit out of Gretzky’s shins”. Low and behold, later that night Smith did what he told my friend’s grandpa and at the period he told him. lol Just a little info for you guys I thought I’d share.
Go isles or Go home.
by OzzyFan on Oct 2, 2010 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
That's hilarious
Never stop sharing stories like this, everybody!
One thing I think about with Smith is how heavy goalie sticks were back then. None of this feather-lite stuff they have today. Wielding it required some strength, and being on the receiving end with those flimsy old shinguards makes you think just maaaaybe Wayne wasn’t completely acting.
Lighthouse Hockey: You say that like Streit and Okposo were important to this team.
Like choosing favorite children
This topic never gets old for me, but as with today’s team it’s really hard to choose. I always default to Bossy, but I could choose about six or seven.
There was Bossy’s shot and the automatic 50 goals per year of course, but I also loved (I know I’ve said this here before) how tough he was in the non-traditional hockey way. We all love the big bad power forward, but to me it takes some serious toughness — both physical and mental — to put up with cheapshot abuse without constantly retaliating. I know he had his protectors on the Isles, but part of that equation is that he was WAY too valuable on the ice that you didn’t want him in the box. In my book, anyone can fight back and take themselves out for 2/4/5 minutes; it’s something else to turn the other way and keep your team’s powerplay.
In high school, I was #22 and a senior winger on a line with a young and talented center who wore #19. We created some good chemistry. I remember him asking — this is in the Midwest mind you — “But have there ever been any good 22-19 combos?” Needless to say, I told him a lil’ story.
Lighthouse Hockey: You say that like Streit and Okposo were important to this team.
FanPost tagging
I’m putting this in the forthcoming FanPost guide, but I wanted to mention it here since Ozzy does a lot of FanPosts. When you make these, try to remember to enter tags in the tag box of your FanPost editor. Stuff like player names in particular but also, depending on the subject “Islanders defense” or “Islanders free agents” etc. (I already went in and added some tags to this one.) As you start typing in that box, it will autofill the way that tag has been worded here before (i.e. “Islanders defense” instead of “Isles blueliners”), so usually you can just click on the name/subject after the first few letters.
One thing that does is bring up “related FanPosts” and “related FanShots” in the right-hand column/margin here, so you can see past FanPosts you or others have done on the same topics.
Lighthouse Hockey: You say that like Streit and Okposo were important to this team.
Voted Nystrom
Loved the fist happy style and i have his autograph so thats a bit of a plus
In Garth we trust!
Potvin
Ozzyfan took the words out of my mouthand put them to paper {so to speak] We are not here to automatically pass on other’s opinions and the tally up the score. But thats what I’m going to do. If you research the top NHL players of all time and there are many such lists, but limit the lists to Hockey professionals and I’ll include Dominik. You will find that all the most creditable of such lists place Potvin ahead of Bossy, although some list Trottier ahead of Bossy. To me it boils down to who was the FRANCHISE for all those years
Favorites vs. best
Oh, if I were starting a dream team I’d without question put Potvin ahead of Bossy. Probably Trottier ahead of Bossy too (a two-way magician at center is about as close in value to a franchise D as I can think of; goalies are sort of a separate category).
But as far as my “favorites” — the ones who captured my hearts for various reasons both rational and irrational — in this knife-edge it probably goes something like Bossy > Gillies > Trots > Potvin/Nystrom/Tonelli/Smith/Goring Morrow > Sutters/Bourne — and we haven’t even gotten off my Christmas card list yet.
But ask me again tomorrow or any day of the year and I’d likely have a different order. What. A. Team.(!)
Lighthouse Hockey: You say that like Streit and Okposo were important to this team.
You captured my thinking as well. Favorite Islander of all time has always been Trottier, but I always felt Potvin was the best Islander. Which is completely different from the player I tried to model my game after as a kid – Stefan Persson.
After those two I would have a completely different order each day of the week depending on which great memory surfaced first. Bourne end-to-end against the Rangers, Bossy’s goal against the Canucks, Gillies banging O’Reilly’s face, that little OT goal by Bobby Ny, Lane taking a penalty for being Gordie, Morrow five hole on Hanlon, Tonelli rolling through the Pens to keep the streak alive, Goring just for his helmet, Smitty for offering to buy the whiny kid new shinguards, or even Jonsson for the cover of SI.
PS for Dom
Yes people love all their children, but when pressed or in secret they will admit to a preverance. We all love Nystrom for that goal and for just being Bobby, …….well you get my point , even if you don’t agree with it!
1980 Miracle Morrow
Yes the stars like Potvin, Smith, Bossy dominated the spot light, but Ken Morrow won the 1980 Olympic Gold medal and within a few short days was on the ice for the Isles. He was a steady stay-at-home D-man who rarely was out of position. His defensive contributions to the dynasty can not be ingnored. His timely playoff goals were classic.
second vote here for Morrow
There were better Islanders and high-skill guys, and I wouldn’t take Morrow first if I was trying to rebuild that team… but he was my favorite. Bossy and Potvin and Trottier were just so incredibly good; somehow Morrow was more relatable to the kind of kid who was always picked last for everything growing up.
Quickly moving up the depth chart
Bossy
No player has a higher career GPG average than Bossys .762 .
Bossy only dropped below 50G one time, during his 10th and final season when he managed 38 playing with a painful back. Can you IMAGINE what difference there would have been in Islanders history if he had played a long, full career? He would have played into the friggin 90s- and the Isles entire history would have been different.
Bossy for me!
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
E
When Kevin Connolly dropped the first puck a year or two ago, he was wearing a Tonelli jersey. I thought that was very cool.
Yes
Tonelli, Morrow, Nystrom…this is why it feels like choosing favorite children.
By the way: I always hear Merrick is like the one guy from that era that no one can ever get a hold of or hear from. I wonder what’s up with that.
Lighthouse Hockey: You say that like Streit and Okposo were important to this team.
He's a tricky little bastard!
Probably because people are looking for Wayne Merrick in the town of Merrick, which is most likely NOT where he lives.
But now that you mention it, yeah, I haven’t seen anything about him in ages.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
