New York Islanders: A Fan With No Hope

I was so excited! The New York Islanders were a top team in the NHL, so I called up a ticket salesman and purchased a partial plan for four games over my Spring Break.

A season with so much hope and promise has managed to dismantle before our very eyes. We all know the story: a fantastic offense and shaky defense that started off strong but has become an embarrassment.

When the New York Islanders were in the midst of chasing first place in the Metropolitan Division in October and November, there was a special feeling surrounding this team. Fans were excited: the trip out to Barclays Center suddenly was not as bad, and attendance was up thanks to the likes of Mat Barzal and John Tavares.

A Stanley Cup seemed like a possibility, and the Islanders were even favored to win it all in November. Things were going great.

I Wanted To Witness History

The Islanders play on the ice was fast, exciting, and high-scoring. There was nothing I wanted to do more than watch this team play, so I saved up a few paychecks from my job and called up Islanders ticket sales.

Thankfully, my Spring Break at school was during a long home-stand, and watching Islanders games sounded fantastic.

Like many fans, I live very far away from Barclays Center and need to take a long train ride with multiple transfers plus the Subway to get to the game. Even though it usually is a three-hour trip each way, it would be worth it to see my favorite team pushing for the Playoffs.

After some negotiations with my salesman, I agreed to purchase tickets for four games in late March and early April, and I started to plan my trips into Brooklyn.

But then the collapse happened…

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It Is Not Worth It

All hope has been lost for the New York Islanders. The team went from atop the Metropolitan Division to dead last, trailing even the tanking Rangers. Since December 1st, the Islanders have given up four goals in 29 games! They are just not fun to watch.

The Islanders lost their eighth game in a row on March 8th in Edmonton, and at that point, I had given up. I decided I would not pay to see garbage on ice, and I made the painful decision to list my tickets I had once cherished for sale on Ticketmaster.

It kills me that the Islanders are struggling as much as they are. Doug Weight’s press conferences have made me physically cringe on a game-by-game basis, and it is a miserable experience watching the facial expressions of such a defeated group of guys.

The date may only be March 17th, but the season has all but come to an end even though the Islanders are not mathematically eliminated. It would be silly for me to make the trek into Brooklyn to support a team that can’t even support themselves.

Joshua Ho-Sang is rotting away in Bridport, in what has been the second consecutive year a young star that could have helped the team has been kept in the minors to preserve face. The defense has been atrocious all year, yet only Brandon Davidson was brought in to help mitigate this issue. Chris Gibson had to wait until March to make his first start with backup goaltender Thomas Greiss putting up a .891 save percentage and 3.84 goals against average.

Management has let the fanbase down yet again. They have accepted 12 years of mediocrity as the norm, and have continuously ignored problems that can be fixed both on and off the ice. The #SnowMustGo movement was the icing on the cake.

Next: Tom Wilson Almost Got His Revenge

The demise of the 2017-2018 New York Islanders have been despairing, and I cannot consciously make the decision to sacrifice my Spring Break watching this team. Sorry Jon Ledecky, maybe next year.