New York Islanders Mount Rushmore Led By Denis Potvin

KEYSTONE, SD - OCTOBER 01: Mount Rushmore National Memorial towers over the South Dakota landscape on October 1, 2013 near Keystone, South Dakota. Mount Rushmore and all other national parks were closed today after congress failed to pass a temporary funding bill, forcing about 800,000 federal workers off the job. A bulletin issued by the Department of Interior states, 'Effective immediately upon a lapse in appropriations, the National Park Service will take all necessary steps to close and secure national park facilities and grounds in order to suspend all activities ...Day use visitors will be instructed to leave the park immediately...' (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) /

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Bryan Trottier

According to one Clark Gillies, Brian Trottier was the greatest center he’d ever seen. Period. And Gillies was around for some pretty special players. Players like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. That’s the pedigree of Bryan Trottier.

With 1425 points in 1279 games he sits 16th all-time in NHL scoring. Adding to that was a Calder Trophy with 95 in his first NHL season. An Art Ross trophy for a 134 point campaign in 1978-79 where he’d also get the leagues Hart trophy as the most valuable player.

He’d get a Conn Smythe in 1979-80 when the Isles captured their first Stanley Cup in four years with 29 points in 21 games. Along with those four cups, Trottier would add a King Clancy trophy at the end of his Islanders career before going to Pittsburgh and helping them capture another two cups.

You can argue that he belongs in the number one spot, that’s fair. When we ran our top Islanders fan poll Bryan Trottier fell to finalist Denis Potvin. Although even then, the voting could have gone either way.

Related Story. Isles Fans Pick Favorite Player

Brian Trottier’s individual accolades are overshadowed by a select few in the world of professional hockey. He’s not only one of the greatest Islanders, but one of the greatest players to play the game.