New York Islanders Expected To Honor Lease

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Islanders will stay on Long Island for the 2014-15 NHL season.

Bruce Ratner, the developer of the Coliseum area and the man who built the Barclays Center, said it was “highly likely” that the Isles would play through 2014-15 at the Coliseum in August, but never closed the door on the possibility of bringing the team to its new home as early as next season.

While there were discussions to break their lease and move to the Barclays Center at the end of the season, Newsday reports that the Islanders will honor their lease with Nassau County and stay at the Nassau Coliseum for one more year before shipping off to Brooklyn.

In a statement made Wednesday, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said he was “looking forward to a successful 2015 Islanders hockey season.”

This news is a positive as positive gets for the club’s Long-Island-based fans.

For one more season, Long Islanders will have a professional hockey team in the local vicinity. The 2014-15 season will be the last season Long Islanders will see John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and others in the house that Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Bobby Nystrom, Denis Potvin and all the other greats built. For one last time, the Islanders will have an opportunity to bring a 5^th Stanley Cup (maybe 6^th? *crosses fingers, hides self from everybody*) to the building that hosted a dynasty in the early 1980s.

This is it, Isles fans. At least we have finality in reference to the time frame. There will be no uprooting of the Islanders at the end of the season to the surprise of many. While the Islanders will always be Long Island’s hockey team, they will be playing hockey in Brooklyn after the next one-and-a-half seasons come to an end.

-CT