The Nassau Coliseum was nearly home to another professional hockey team before the NY Islanders

When the NY Islanders came into existence in 1972, the organization's original home, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, was a state-of-the-art arena that brought hockey to Long Island. Though the Islanders brought four Stanley Cups to the area, becoming one of the greatest dynasties in sports history, it was nearly another team in another league that called Fort Never Lose home.

In 1971, the World Hockey Association was formed, a league that would compete with the NHL. A 12-team league with its inaugural campaign set for the 1972-73 season, the WHA wanted Nassau Coliseum to be the home of the New York Raiders.

When the WHA approached Nassau County, county officials did not view the WHA as a major league, slamming the door on the Raiders playing in the Coliseum.

William Shea, who brought the New York Mets to Queens in the 1960's, was entrusted with bringing an NHL team to Long Island. When Shea approached Clarence Campbell, the NHL President at the time, with the idea of bringing a second franchise to the NYC area, there was pushback from the NY Rangers, who did not want to compete with another local franchise.

In order for the Islanders to call Long Island home, Roy Boe, the original owner of the Islanders, was to pay a $6M expansion fee to the NHL and $5M to the NY Rangers as a territorial fee.

The Raiders would play their home games at Madison Square Garden as a tenant of the Rangers, and after one season with lackluster attendance, the franchise defaulted, and the team moved homes to Cherry Hill, NJ, rebranding as the New York Golden Blades.

If the WHA were able to convince Nassau County to allow the Raiders to play their games at Nassau Coliseum, it's likely the Islanders would have never come into existence, with a possibility of professional hockey no longer living on Long Island.

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