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.
