The reason why a NY Islanders legend declined induction into team Hall of Fame

Last week, the New York Islanders announced that Brent Sutter would be inducted into the Islanders Hall of Fame on Jan. 18, 2025, before the game against the San Jose Sharks. The former captain and Stanley Cup winner will be the 16th inductee to the team HOF, joining Ed Westfall, Ken Morrow, Patrick Flatley, Kenny Jonsson, and Bob Bourne as players who have received the honor without having their number retired by the organization.

When the Islanders Hall of Fame was officially unveiled in 2006 with a banner at the Nassau Coliseum, all players who had their numbers retired were automatically inducted (Potvin, Bossy, Smith, Nystrom, Gillies, Trottier). For those who came after, an induction to the Hall of Fame was a great honor, but it also likely meant that the team was not going to retire your jersey numbers.

It's for that reason that the team's first choice for an inductee in 2006 politely declined the offer, according to former VP of Communications, Chris Botta, who worked for the team at the time.

The idea for a Hall-of-Fame came, believe it or not, rose out of a time when former GM Mike Milbury was serving as a team executive on the business side for owner Charles Wang as a way to honor more dynasty-era players without taking numbers out of circulation. "The first player chosen in the Hall of Fame was John Toneilli, Botta said on the Isles Fix Podcast. "It wasn't Bob Bourne. He was a close second and was always the next person to be honored."

Botta explained that Milbury and others from the organization met with Tonelli before the 2006-07 season started. However, when they discussed the idea, the original "JT" surprised them with his answer and declined the offer. "He was very polite about it; he was very appreciative, but he thought his number should be retired," Botta added. " His feeling was, wisely, that if we put him into the Hall of Fame, it would be the end of any hope and dreams of having his number retired."

As a result, Bourne was inducted during a ceremony at the Nassau Coliseum on Nov. 25, 2006. Other players, such as Morrow, Westfall, Flatley, and Jonsson, followed. However, Tonelli's belief that he deserved to have his No. 27 hanging from the rafters was eventually rewarded 14 years after he turned down the honor of being inducted into the HOF when his number was retired on Feb. 21, 2020.

"Tonight is not about me," Tonelli said. "It's all about giving thanks to my extended family, each and every one of you here and at home tonight. All of you have played a starring role in the journey that has brought this extremely honored and humbled man before you. Tonight is about my teammates, some of whom are standing with me. ... I feel incredibly honored to have skated alongside each of you and to be part of the success that we achieved as a team."

Perhaps not surprisingly, Tonelli trusted his gut and made the clutch decision to wait, and it paid off.