New York Islanders Selected 1972 Expansion Team

Goaltenders

Gerry Desjardins (1)

Gerry was the Islanders first draft in 1972. He played 44 games that season putting up 4.68 goals against average that season. And another 36 games played in 1973-74, with a much improved 3.12 GAA.

Although to be fair, the whole team stopped the bleeding by shedding 100 goals against in the 1973-74 season. And that was the end of Desjardins as an Islander. In 74-75 Desjardins moved to the WHA and played for the Michigan Stags and Baltimore Blades.

Billy Smith (2)

The Isles second overall pick was Billy Smith from the Los Angeles Kings. Smith barely had a Kings career playing just five games in 1971-72.

And then he spent the next 17 years with the Islanders as they became one of the few true dynasties in the NHL with cups four years in a row. And Smith, Smith was a huge part of it. In those four cup years, he put a 2.68 GAA with a 57-13 record and claiming the Conn Smythe in 1982-83.

He won a Vezina trophy in 1981-82 after 32-9-4 regular season record with a 2.97 GAA. Finally, he was put into the Hall of Fame.

No one could have guessed this could have gone as well as it did. No one had any idea Smith would become a Hall of Fame player.