Perhaps remembering the crucial role the Jets had played in ensuring the success of the AFL just a few years earlier as a challenger of the National Football League, Jennings decided to help bring a new NHL team to the New York metropolitan area.

[8] Despite expanding to 14 teams just two years prior, the NHL awarded a Long Island-based franchise to clothing manufacturer Roy Boe, owner of the American Basketball Association's New York Nets, on November 8, 1971.

[7] The New York Islanders name was unveiled by the franchise on February 15, 1972, at a press conference held across the street from Roosevelt Raceway at a restaurant owned by Burt Bacharach.

The Islanders' arrival effectively doomed the Raiders, who played in Madison Square Garden under difficult lease terms and were forced to move to Cherry Hill, New Jersey in the middle of their second season.

Montreal Canadiens' general manager Sam Pollock was keen to acquire the Islanders' pick so he could draft French Canadian junior star defenseman Denis Potvin, who had been touted as "the next Bobby Orr" when he was 14 years old.

Only four other major North American professional sports teams have accomplished this feat (the 1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs, 2004 Boston Red Sox, the 2009–10 Philadelphia Flyers, and the 2013–14 Los Angeles Kings).

Before the playoffs, Torrey made the difficult decision to trade longtime and popular veterans Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis to the Los Angeles Kings for second line center Butch Goring.

Contributions from new teammates, such as wingers Duane Sutter and Anders Kallur and stay-at-home defensemen Dave Langevin, Gord Lane, and Ken Morrow (the latter fresh off a gold medal win at the 1980 Olympics), also figured prominently in the Islanders' playoff success.

The Islanders finished with the most points in the league (118), yet once in the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins they found themselves down late in the third period of deciding game 5 before John Tonelli scored both the tying goal and the overtime winner.

The next year, although the Islanders had won the Stanley Cup three straight times, more attention was being paid to the upstart Edmonton Oilers, whose young superstar Wayne Gretzky had just shattered existing scoring records.

The LaFontaine-Turgeon trade proved successful for both the Islanders and Sabres, as both players hit career highs in points and Turgeon won the Lady Byng Trophy.

Only seconds after Turgeon, the team's star center and leading scorer, scored an insurance goal in the series-clinching game, Dale Hunter violently checked him from behind.

The Islanders' next opponent, the Pittsburgh Penguins, were twice-defending Stanley Cup champions and full of stars such as Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and Ron Francis.

Maloney had avoided making many personnel changes his first year, but on the eve of the 1993 expansion draft he traded backup goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick to the Quebec Nordiques for Ron Hextall.

They began trading or releasing many popular players to avoid paying their salaries, including star scorer Zigmund Palffy, team captain Linden, former rookie of the year Bryan Berard, and rugged defenseman Rich Pilon.

Around that time, Milstein bid hundreds of millions of dollars in unsuccessful attempts to purchase the National Football League's Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns.

His first attempt proved unpopular with fans, as he traded away future star players Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.

Alexei Yashin was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Bill Muckalt, defenseman Zdeno Chara and the Islanders' second overall pick in the 2001 draft.

[72][73] Smith, however, was fired after approximately one month and quickly replaced by the team's backup goaltender Garth Snow, who retired from his playing career to accept the position.

[22] Before his dismissal, Smith made several free agent acquisitions, including defensemen Brendan Witt and Tom Poti, and forwards Mike Sillinger and Chris Simon.

[87][88] Arbour signed a one-day contract, the shortest in league history, on November 3, 2007; it put him behind the bench the following day as the Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2, raising his career coaching win total to 740.

[133][134] Despite chemistry with linemates Tavares and Kyle Okposo, however, his desire to test free agency and the team's impending move to Barclays Center[135] led to Vanek being dealt to the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline for Sebastian Collberg and a second-round pick in 2014.

Summer of 2016 saw free agents and longtime Islanders Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, and Matt Martin all depart the team, joining the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively.

Snow signed free agents Andrew Ladd from the Chicago Blackhawks and Jason Chimera from the Washington Capitals to help fill the gaps left behind.

Longest tenured Islander Josh Bailey and team captain Anders Lee missed the game, while Adam Pelech, Anthony Beauvillier, and Andy Greene were ruled out minutes before puck drop.

Unlike the previous black alternate, this version featured little blue and orange at all (these colors appear only on the rear collar), while the "NY" insignia that was carried over from the Stadium Series jersey was stripped of its chrome accents.

In the mid-1990s, the Islanders had a mascot named "Nyisles" whose body style went from round to human-shaped, and facial features vaguely resembled the logo fisherman, excluding its red hair and beard.

Eight past Islanders have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame – Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, Pat LaFontaine, Roberto Luongo, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier and Pierre Turgeon.

In November 2011, first Islanders captain Ed Westfall was added to their Hall of Fame, followed by the addition of defenseman Ken Morrow in December 2011, right-winger Patrick Flatley ("Chairman of the Boards") in January 2012[193] and Kenny Jonsson in February 2012.

In New York City itself, WFAN picked up Islanders games from 2016–17 to 2018–19, when it shifted most of its broadcasts to internet streaming on Audacy (formerly Radio.com), which also partnered with the team on other exclusive ancillary content.