NHL Hockey Trivia: New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are a National Hockey League that began play in 1972-73 along with their expansion partners, the Atlanta Flames. The Islanders reached their pinnacle less than a decade later when they ruled the NHL with four consecutive Stanley Cup championships. Since, the organization has fallen into disarray but a move to Brooklyn may change the fortunes of the franchise.

Test and expand your knowledge of the NHL’s New York Islanders with these four hockey trivia questions.

Q. Which player is the New York Islanders all-time leader in regular season points?

A. Bryan Trottier contributed 1,353 points over his fifteen seasons in an Islanders jersey. Trottier was an essential part of the formula during the Stanley Cup streak of the 1980’s. Mike Bossy comes in second with 1,126 points. However, Bossy played just 752 games for the Islanders, compared to 1,123 for Trottier. Denis Potvin is the only other player in NYI history to top 1,000 points with 1,052 over 1,060 games.

Q. Who was the first team captain of the New York Islanders?

A. Ed Westfall was taken away from the Boston Bruins in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft. Westfall had played eleven seasons with the Bruins before coming to New York. He served as captain until the end of the 1976-77 season. At the point, the ‘C’ was transferred to Clark Gillies. Westfall remained with the team for two more seasons and retired after the 1978-79 season, missing the New York’s first Stanley Cup victory by one year.

Q. What New York Islander holds the team record for the most goals in a single regular season?

A. Mike Bossy scored 69 goals in 1978-79. Bossy surpassed the 60 goal plateau on five occasions and scored less than 50 in only one season during his career, his last. Bossy is one of just four players in Islanders history to top the 50 goal plateau. Bryan Trottier scored 50 in 1981-82, Pat Lafontaine scored 54 in 1989-90 and Pierre Turgeon netted 58 in 1992-93.

Q. The number 9 is retired by the New York Islanders in honour of what player?

A. Clark Gillies was the fifth of six players to have their number retired by the Islanders.  Clark was a fourth overall pick of the Islanders at the 1974 NHL Entry Draft. Gillies played twelve seasons with the Islanders and two additional seasons with the Buffalo Sabres before retiring.

As metioned, he took over the captaincy of the Islanders from Ed Westfall for the 1977-78 season. That responsibility was transferred to Denis Potvin two years later. Gillies sits fourth all-time for the Islanders in goals, assists and points behind Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin. Clark was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

1993 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees

In 1993, four National Hockey League players entered the Hockey Hall of Fame. Three of the four starred on either the Montreal Canadiens or New York Islanders teams that dominated the Stanley Cup from 1976 to 1983. The other was a mainstay with the New York Rangers in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

Guy Lapointe

Guy Lapointe played 894 regular season games in the NHL between 1968-69 to 1983-84. He played the bulk of his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens while also having stints with St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins nearer the end of his career. The defenseman was a part of six Stanley Cup championship teams with Montreal during the 1970’s.

Despite putting up great numbers from the blue line, Guy was denied the Norris Trophy during his playing days, not able to steal the limelight from the likes of Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin and Montreal teammate Larry Robinson. Lapointe played seven of the eight games for Canada at the 1972 Summit Series with the Soviet Union.

Edgar Laprade

Edgar Laprade played his entire NHL career with the New York Rangers between 1945-46 and 1954-55, appearing in exactly 500 regular season games. With 34 points in 49 games during his rookie season, Laprade was selected as the recipient of the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top first year player. His 34 assists In 1947-48, Edgard placed third in the National hockey League with 34 assists.

Edgar was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy in 1949-50, amassing just one minor penalty over 60 games. In fact, Laprade sat just 42 minutes in the penalty box over his 500 games.

Steve Shutt

At the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, the Montreal Canadiens selected Steve Shutt fourth overall. Fresh off the roster of the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey League, Shutt jumped right into the Montreal lineup without missing a beat. Steve appeared in 930 regular season NHL games between 1972-73 and 1984-85. All his time was spent with the Habs with exception of 59 games with the Los Angeles Kings in his final season after he was traded.

Steve was a member of four consecutive Stanley Cup championship teams in Montreal between 1975-76 and 1978-79. The pinnacle of his NHL career was 1976-77 when he scored 60 goals and amassed 105 points. He led the league in goals that season and placed third for points. Three more times during his NHL career, Shutt placed in the top ten for goals in the NHL but he never again surpassed the 50 goal plateau.

Billy Smith

Billy Smith was the backbone of the New York Islanders Stanley Cup dynasty of the early 1980’s when the team won four straight between 1979-80 and 1982-83. Although drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, Smith played just five games with the club before becoming a member of the Islanders.

Billy Smith was a goalie in the National Hockey League from 1971-72 to 1988-89. He earned the Vezina Trophy in 1981-82 and the Conn Smythe Trophy for his performance during the 1982-83 Stanley Cup playoff run.

4 Big Name Goalies to Come out of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft

When it comes to goalies and the NHL Draft, it’s a pretty bitter relationship to say the least. Goaltenders are rarely picked high in the draft and the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft was no exception. Just one goalie was picked in the first round, Ray Martyniuk was the fifth overall selection by the Montreal Canadiens. The Flin Flon Bombers goalie never saw action in the NHL. In fact, of the 12 goalies chosen in the entire draft, five never played in the NHL and eight saw less than 100 games. Therefore, just four of the 12 made a career of it.

Dan Bouchard

Dan Bouchard was the second highest picked goalie in 1970. The London Knights goaltender was chosen in the second round by the Boston Bruins, 27^th overall. Bouchard never played for the Bruins but did have a successful lengthy 655 game career in the NHL, starting in the 1972-73 season.

The expansion Atlanta Flames gave him the shot he needed to be a regular goalie in the league. He played with the Flames for the team’s entire existence in Atlanta. In his first year with the Calgary Flames, 1980-81, Dan was traded to the Quebec Nordiques after playing 14 games in Alberta. Bouchard played with the Nordiques until the end of the 1984-85 season and had one last NHL season with the Winnipeg Jets in 1985-86.

Billy Smith

The fifth round proved to be the goaltenders round in 1970. Billy Smith was the 59^th overall pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth. Billy played just five games with the Kings before becoming the backbone of the backend of the New York Islanders for many years to come. Billy played 680 games over his career and is now enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Gilles Meloche

Not far behind Smith in that fifth round was Gilles Meloche. Meloche was the 70^th overall pick, going to the Chicago Black Hawks. With a similar start to his career as Billy Smith, Meloche played just two games with the team that drafted him before becoming the number one man with the California Golden Seals in 1971-72.

Gilles played 788 games in net during his career that lasted until the end of the 1987-88 season. Meloche is regarded as the greatest goalie in Minnesota North Stars history. Along with the Black Hawks, Golden Seals and North Stars, Gilles Meloche also played for the Cleveland Barons and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ron Low

Ron Low was drafted way down in the eighth round by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 103^rd overall. Despite his low ranking, Ron made a decent career of it in the NHL, playing 382 games between 1972-73 and 1984-85. A bit of a travelling man, Low played for the Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques and New Jersey Devils.

3 From 1970 NHL Amateur Draft Now In Hockey Hall Of Fame

The 1970 NHL Amateur Draft was the first for the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks and saw 14 teams select 115 players over 14 rounds. 62 of the 115 players went on to play at least one game in the National Hockey League. Three of the 115 went on to have stellar NHL careers and eventually get inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Gilbert Perreault - 1990

Gilbert Perreault getting chosen first overall by the expansion Buffalo Sabres came down to a spin of the wheel. In deciding which of the two new teams would choose first, Buffalo and Vancouver each took a spin of ‘crown and anchor’ type wheel with Buffalo winning. The Sabres took Perreault and the Canucks took defenseman Dale Tallon.

Perreault was coming off a dominant junior season in the OHA, scoring 51 goals and totalling 121 points in 54 games for the Montreal Junior Canadiens. He finished second in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy to Marcel Dionne of the St. Catherines Black Hawks, who finished with 132 points. Dionne would go second overall to the Detroit Red Wings in the 1971 draft.

Gilbert played his entire career with the Sabres, from 1970-71 to 1986-87. To this day, he is arguably the franchise’s greatest player. In his first season, he was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie while scoring 38 goals and assisting on 34 others. That, coupled with the Lady Byng Trophy he won in 1972-73 would be the only major individual awards Perreault would win. He finished his career with 512 goals and 1,326 points. Gilbert Perreault was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Darryl Sittler - 1989

Darryl Sittler was taken in the eighth position by the Toronto Maple Leafs after playing three years of junior hockey with the OHA’s London Knights. Although an immediate regular with Toronto, Sittler was a bit slower to start than his counterpart in Buffalo. In his first two seasons, Darryl contributed just 50 points in 123 regular season games.

Sittler played nearly 1,100 regular season games in the NHL between 1970-71 and 1984-85 with the Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. Never a Stanley Cup winner and never the recipient of a major NHL individual award, Darryl did have two 100+ points seasons with Toronto and ended his career with 484 goals and 1,121 points. Darryl Sittler was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989.

Billy Smith - 1993

NHL teams rarely select goaltenders in the early rounds of the draft. Thus was the case with Billy Smith. The junior star with the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL was taken down in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Kings, 59^th overall. Smith played just five games with the Kings in 1971-72 but became a regular with the New York Islanders in their inaugural season, 1972-73.

Smith was mostly New York’s number one goalie until he retired after the 1988-89 season. He viscously guarded between the pipes as the Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1979-80 to 1982-83. Billy was awarded the Vezina Trophy in 1981-82 and received the Conn Smythe Trophy the following season as the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Billy Smith was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.