Islanders: Every single player lost through expansion drafts since 1974

1993 – Florida Panther & Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Three years, three expansion drafts. Wild. This was also the first expansion draft where Bill Torrey wasn’t at the helm for the Isles. He was on the other side as the President of the Florida Panthers.

• Glenn Healy (G) – Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
• Tom Fitzgerald (F) – Florida Panthers

Seeing Healy go after what he did in the playoffs was wild. But Anaheim didn’t protect him either and Tampa drafted him the next day. Fortunately for Healy, he was immediately traded to the Rangers and won the Stanley Cup in 1994.

Fitzgerald didn’t have a great career with the Isles but became a solid player for the Panthers, putting up 121 points in 353 games.

1998 – Nashville Predators

After back-to-back double expansions, the NHL only grew by a single team in 98, welcoming the Nashville Predators to the league. The Isles would lose only a single player:

• J.J. Daigneault (D)

Daigneault was already a well-travelled player at this point. The veteran defenseman had already skated with six teams before joining the Islanders. By going to the Preds, by way of the Isles, he was already at eight teams. He’d make it nine in January of 1999 when the Preds traded him for ‘future considerations’ to the then Phoenix Coyotes.

Daigneault was never much a scorer. His most productive season was 28 points in 64 games back in 1985-86, so it’s no surprise he only put up four points in 35 games with the Preds. But the vet was brought in for his wealth of NHL experience and to solidfy the backend for an expansion team.