Islanders: Best Player In Franchise History Champion

After making our way through our New York Islanders bracket, we’ve found out who the fans consider is the best of all-time.

We are now at two weeks without New York Islanders hockey and as a result, I tried to poll the fanbase to see who they thought was the best Islander of all-time. Was my seeding perfect? No, but we made the best of it.

In the finals, it came down to the one seed vs two seed, Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy and honestly I saw this going either way.

Potvin burst into the league in 1973-1974 as a 20-year-old and won the Calder Trophy. In 77 games, he had 54 points (17 goals, 37 assists). That was only the beginning for Mr. Potvin. The two-way defender would be a seven-time all-star and finished top three in Norris voting six times, winning it three times.

On top of the personal accolades, including a 101 point season in 1978-1979, he was a four-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Islanders. He spent his full 15-year career on Long Island as he retired after the 1987-1988 season.

Then, there’s the winger, Mike Bossy. Two years after Potvin took home the Calder Trophy, Bossy did it in 1978. In his rookie year, he had 91 points (53 goals, 38 assists). Through the first nine years of his career he eclipsed the 90 point and 50 goal mark, that’s insanity.

He’s regarded by many as the greatest goal scorer of all-time and it’s easy to see why. In 1986-1987, his season was cut short due to injuries. He wasn’t himself, but he still netted 38 goals and 75 points in 63 games.

Unfortunately, Bossy never would lace up the skates again playing his last game as a 30-year-old. he still finished his career with four Stanley Cup’s and 573 goals.

The Results

The number two seed, Mike Bossy took home the victory with 73 percent of the vote. I honestly thought it would be a lot closer but I don’t blame fans on this one. I truly believe that Bossy is the best Islander of all-time but it’s close.

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This was a difficult poll to do because the Islanders have so many talented players in their history. Here’s to hoping to more legends like that in the future.