Islanders Core of the Four: A deep dive into 4 time Stanley Cup winners

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UNIONDALE, NY – MARCH 02: Former New York Islanders legend Denis Potvin carries the Stanley Cup before the game against the Florida Panthers at the Nassau Coliseum March 2, 2008 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders are celebrating the 17 men that were part of all four Stanley Cup winning teams from 1980-1983. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

A millennial looks back at the group of 17 players that brought four Stanley Cups to the New York Islanders. Who were they?

I’m 35, I was born in 1984, I don’t like to admit it, but I’m a millennial and I wasn’t around when the New York Islanders were dominating the NHL and winning four back-to-back Stanley Cups. In fact, I was only five days old when the Islanders won their fourth cup.

The 1993 playoff push was my first real taste of a good New York Islanders team. I was eight years old then. So everything that happened before then I had to learn second hand either through reading a ton of content or listening to other people’s stories.

Whenever I get the chance I try to go back and soak up as much knowledge from that time. Recently I was reading Dan Saraceni’s piece on Gord Lane for the Islander of the Day. I knew the player, I knew how he played the game, and I knew his role in the Isles four cup winning teams. But I asked myself, could I name all 17 players on the Isles four cup teams?

Could I name the Core of the Four?

It was Lorne Henning

I couldn’t. I got to 12 and then I really struggled to remember names. My memory isn’t fantastic so that’s nothing new. After looking at a roster for the final cup winning team I got to 16 quick enough.

But I just couldn’t think of that 17th player and it drove me nuts. It took me longer than I care to admit, but that 17th player was Lorne Henning. I couldn’t remember Lorne.

So I’m going to try and fix that. I won’t ever forget the 17 again. The best way to do that, in my opinion, is to write about it.

Going forward I’m going to write a piece about every single one of the 17 players detailing what brought them to the Islanders, what they did when they wore the blue and orange jersey of the New York Islanders, what they meant to the team, and what they did after the Isles.

UNIONDALE – 1979: From left, Canadian ice hockey players Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier, and Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders pose together on the ice in March of 1979 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images) /

The 17 Players

It’s a feat that hasn’t been replaced since and likely never will. Through four back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, the New York Islanders were able to keep a core of 17 players.

Think about that. With a 23-man active roster, that returning core represents almost three-quarters of the team. That’s insane to think about in modern terms.

With the salary cap, there’s no way that this can be replicated in the modern era. It’s not possible to keep three-quarters of a championship team together for at least four years.

Of those 17 players, five would go on to the Hockey Hall of Fame, eight would be named to the Islanders Hall of Fame, and eight would have their numbers retired by the Islanders.

Here are all seventeen players of the Core of the Four:

Forwards

Bryan Trottier (HOF 1997)
Mike Bossy (HOF 1991)
Clark Gillies (HOF 2002)
Butch Goring
Bob Nystrom
John Tonelli
Duane Sutter
Bob Bourne
Anders Kallur
Wayne Merrick
Lorne Henning

Defense

Denis Potvin (HOF 1991)
Dave Langevin
Stefan Persson
Ken Morrow
Gord Lane

Goaltending

Billy Smith (HOF 1993)

UNIONDALE, NY – MARCH 4: Former coach Al Arbour addresses the crowd as former GM Bill Torrey (R) looks on during a ceremony honoring the 25th anniversary of the New York Islanders first Stanley Cup victory, before the Islanders game against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 4, 2006 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

It’s Not Just About The Players

The players typically get most of the credit for winning those four championships, they did, after all, put the pucks in the net. But if not for General Manager Bill Torrey they don’t end up together, and if not for Head Coach Al Arbour they may not have reached the level of success they had as a group.

It’s important to recognize their vital contributions to this team.

Bill Torrey

It takes a next level mastermind to not only build a championship-caliber team but to build a championship-caliber team that would be one of the best dynasties in hockey. Only two teams have ever won four Stanley Cup championships in back-to-back years. The Montreal Canadiens and the New York Islanders. That’s it, that’s the list.

Torrey turned an expansion club into a Stanley Cup winner within eight years of it’s existence.

Through the draft, he found eleven of the 17 players of the Core of Four. Only four were first-round picks and only two were top four overall picks (Denis Potvin and Clark Gillies).

Bryan Trottier and John Tonelli were second-round picks, Bob Nystrom was a third-round pick, Stefan Persson was a 14th round pick.

He also had his finger on the pulse of his team and knew what they needed and when to acquire those pieces in the trade market. He brought in Gord Lane to give his team an edge and brought in Butch Goring to seal the deal. They’d win their first cup the season both Lane and Goring were acquired via trade.

Again, next level mastermind.

Al Arbour

It’s one thing to amass talent and another to turn that talent into a champion. That was Al Arbour’s job. As the Isles bench boss, Arbour did exactly that.

The former defenseman and coach for the St Louis Blues came to the Islanders – with three Stanley Cup rings on his fingers – in the second year of their existence.

In year one under Arbour, the Isles shed 100 goals against. They’d even make the playoffs in year three and go all the way to the semi-finals where they fell to the Flyers in seven games.

The man knew how to get the most out of his players. My biggest takeaway from anything I’ve heard said about Al Arbour is his reaction to Kelly Hrudey calling him his second father. (Get a tissue ready.)

The man wasn’t just a hockey coach. Sure, he turned some of these guys into superstars or at the very least NHL players. But his coaching went beyond what happened on the ice. He turned a lot of these guys into men and was a huge influence on them. Case and point Kelly Hrudey’s comments about his former coach.

Most underrated player in Isles history. Next

Over the next few weeks, I’ll go over all 17 Core of the Four players but before I got to the players I wanted to give some necessary love to the Architect Bill Torrey and Al Arbour.

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