Islanders: Every single player lost through expansion drafts since 1974

1991 – San Jose Sharks

Technically there were two teams selecting players with the Minnesota Stars also making selections. The 1991 expansion draft was complicated. The Islanders only lost a single player in the first expansion in twelve years:

• Jeff Hackett (G) – San Jose Sharks

In two years with the Isles Hackett averaged a .879SV% and 3.60GAA. With the Sharks, he averaged even worse numbers with a 0.875SV% and 4.51GAA. Although it’s not like the Isles were any good between 88 and 91 nor were the expansion Sharks. Hackett would find his groove in Chicago where he would average a 0.913SV% and 2.47GAA. The Sharks traded him to the Blackhawks in 1993 for a third-round pick.

While Hackett would become a good player he wasn’t one for San Jose.

1992 – Ottawa Senators & Tampa Bay Lightning

A year later the NHL expanded yet again adding the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. Like every other team (except for San Jose), the Isles lost two players:

• Joe Reekie (D) – Tampa Bay Lightning
• Rob DiMaio (RW) – Tampa Bay Lightning

Reekie was a solid NHL’er playing 647 NHL games with the Lightning, Capitals, and Blackhawks.  The stay at home defenseman only had one season with a negative +/- and that was his final year in the league in 2001-02 at the age of 36.

DiMaio was a great AHL’er putting up 52 points in 54 games in a championship-winning 1989-90 season with the Springfield Indians. At the NHL level, DiMaio was a bottom-six forward sho scored 56 points in 154 games with the Lightning.