Islanders: Best Player To Ever Wear Number 19

Continuing our best of series, today we will look at the best player to wear number 19 for the New York Islanders in their history.

In the New York Islanders history, only two players have worn number 19. The first to ever do it, Craig Cameron will be our honorable mention today. Cameron played RW for the Islanders for two and a half seasons.

His best year was a 33 point season in 1972-1973 where he scored 19 goals which was also a career-high. In 187 career games on Long Island, he had 69 points (35 goals, 34 assists).

That leaves only one for our winner today, and his name is Bryan Trottier. In 1974, the Islanders drafted Trottier in the second round and he would make his NHL debut a year later at the age of 19.

In his rookie year, Trottier played 80 games and had a whopping 95 points (32 goals, 63 assists). His impressive rookie campaign was enough to win him the Calder Trophy in 1976 while Chico Resch finished second in the Calder voting.

Three years later, in 1979, Trottier would take home the Hart and Ross trophy with by far his most dominant season in the league. He finished the year with 134 points (47 goals, 87 assists). He lead the league in both points and assists.

Trottier was also a part of all four Isles Stanley Cup Teams and was a dominant playoff performer. In 1980, he won the Conn Smythe with 29 points in 21 games. In 175 career playoff games with the Isles, Trottier had 169 points and was over a point per game four times for the Islanders in the playoffs.

Trottier finished his Islander career with 1,353 points and 500 goals in 1,123 games. He was released after the 1990 season and he would sign with Pittsburgh and win two more Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992.

With six Stanley Cups, a Calder Trophy, a Hart, and a Conn Smythe, Trottier walked into the Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2001, the Isles retired his number 19 officially, even though no player has worn it since he left the team in 1990.

Trottier is one of the best centers in NHL history, and a top-five Islander of all-time. When you go to the Coliseum and look up and see number 19, I hope you realize just how good this guy truly was for this team.