The LaFontaine of youth: Reviving the Islanders
Ask any hockey fan today, especially a young one, what they think of the New York Islanders, and they’ll probably tell you the team resembles more of a punch line than a solid NHL team. For the past two decades, this once-proud franchise had failed to come anywhere close to the expectations brought on by immediate success upon entering the league in 1972. Sure, standards were set impossibly high by one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the game, but this is a team that has been an easy first round exit at the best of times and a money-losing last resort for players pretty much for every other season. They once won 19 consecutive playoff series, but have also gone 19 years without winning one.
They may not be battling on the ice for a while, but the Islanders’ fight to stay in Long Island is waging, lockout or not. Fans do have a glimmer of hope, however, as investors have reached out to former Islander Pat LaFontaine in hopes of selling the team to him and keeping them where they are.
The team is losing $40 million a year for a variety of reasons, none of which are easily fixable and all are interconnected. They had the second-worst attendance last season, drawing only 13,191 fans a game, they lack the funds and pedigree to sign marquee free agents, and their building, Nassau Coliseum, is one of the oldest in the NHL. To top it off, owner Charles Wang is refusing to play another game at the only rink they have ever called home after their lease is up in July 2015. Though he wants to keep the team in Long Island, efforts to build a new arena have proven problematic, as are his efforts to find a buyer willing to shell out the $300 million Wang is looking for.
Though you never want to speak ill of the dead, former Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz’s passing in 2007 was the best thing to ever happen to the franchise. Their turnaround from bottom-feeder to powerhouse happened far faster than anyone expected thanks to the tireless efforts of Wirtz’s son Rocky, who was willing to pay off large contracts and rejuvenated what is quite possibly the most electrifying fanbase in sports. A change in New York’s ownership, regardless of the circumstances, is what this team needs.
LaFontaine becoming a part of the Islanders’ story once again would be just like Chicago when they welcomed Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita back after they were exiled by Bill Wirtz. Something similar happened to LaFontaine back in 2006.
While being the part of a group that buys the Islanders would be a long shot for the 47-year-old LaFontaine, it would likely be extra sweet.
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The Hall of Famer had a falling out with Wang in 2006 after the owner fired Neil Smith as general manager six weeks after hiring him. LaFontaine, hired as an unpaid adviser the same day as Smith, resigned when Smith was axed.
The team has not invited LaFontaine back since, and has not voted him into its franchise hall of fame.
Getting a star player back in the fold, especially one as active in the community as LaFontaine, will only have a positive impact – and if he does express interest, it will be the first step toward recovering the Islanders’ legacy.
Should LaFontaine become part owner of the team, fans can rest assured he’d do everything to right the ship on Long Island. There’s no reason to think a Blackhawks-like turnaround can’t happen for a team with a young core like the Isles have built over the past few seasons. John Tavares is a superstar-in-waiting and has the support of Matt Moulson, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Michael Grabner, Josh Bailey and Matt Martin. That’s a pretty solid combination of offensive prowess, speed and checking ability and rebuilding team would be happy to have.
It’s certainly a far cry from the lineups they’ve been putting on the ice, which included a four-year stretch when Alexei Yashin was paid more to not play for the Islanders than anyone on their roster.
Never in history have both New York teams been dominant at the same time. With the rival Rangers currently considered as Stanley Cup contenders for the first time since Mark Messier’s first stint on Broadway, there’s the potential to build the NY-rivalry to the level we saw in the late-90s between Colorado and Detroit. That kind of drama and entertainment would do wonders for both franchises, and the entire New York metro area. If they can make the U.S.’s largest market fall in love with hockey again, who knows how far the ripple will spread.
It’s time to restore another franchise to its past shine the way the Pittsburgh Penguins, Blackhawks and Rangers have done in recent years. It’s all hope and speculation right now and the Islanders have three more years before anything has to happen. There’s something special brewing on Long Island and if it can come to fruition, the NHL will be better off for it.
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