NHL releases NY Islanders quarter-century team

The NHL has been unveiling its quarter-century teams for each NHL franchise with the NY Islanders revealed today. Here are the two teams as released by the NHL

First Team

Josh Bailey - John Tavares - Brock Nelson
Nick Leddy - Adam Pelech
Ilya Sorokin

While many don’t want to admit it, John Tavares is a player who deserves to be part of this list. In 669 games with the Islanders, the former first-overall pick scored 272 goals and 349 assists playing on Long Island. His departure from the team left a bad taste in the mouths of the fans, but he brought excitement back to an organization that was pitiful for over a decade before his arrival.

Brock Nelson, who has been a lifelong Islander, recently passed Tavares for seventh place on the organization's goal-scoring list. His 275 tallies put him only 12 behind Pat LaFontaine for sixth, but could be running out of time as there’s a chance he’s dealt before the deadline.

Some loved to love him and some loved to hate him, but Josh Bailey was a loyal Islander for all 15 seasons he played in the NHL, totaling 1,057 games - third most in franchise history. With the need for cap space, Lou Lamoriello moved Josh Bailey at the 2023 NHL Draft. Bailey has remained a familiar face at UBS arena and and within the organization.

When the Islanders acquired Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk before the start of the 2014-15 season, it resulted in a shift in the organization becoming a more competitive team. Leddy was the puck-moving defenseman and one of the league's best skaters. He played 6.5 seasons with the Isles before being moved to Detroit at the 2021 trade deadline.

Adam Pelech was one of the Islanders' most important pieces during their back-to-back runs to the Conference/Semi-Final appearances, imposing himself as a top defenseman at the time. He’s struggled with injuries since that time but has cemented himself for the success he had earlier in his career.

Goaltending has been an issue for the Islanders since the days of Billy Smith. Ilya Sorokin stepped in and immediately became one of the best goaltenders in the league, finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting in 2022-23. Though his time with the Isles has been short, he’s clearly been the most successful Islanders goaltender this century.