The only way the Islanders 5-0 loss at the hands of Crosby and the Pens last night could have gone any worse, is if they would have been sporting their new 3rd jersey. From the same franchise that brought us one of the best jerseys in all of hockey, the royal blue with the white and orange stripes at the bottom, a jersey that evokes thoughts or Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Mark Gillies. thoughts of a great dynasty that won 4 straight cups and battle the upstart Edmonton Oilers and some kid named Wayne Gretzky. The inclusion of this jersey on the other hand, is just another little thing to top off the teams current decline.
The New York Islanders haven’t made the playoffs since the 2006-07 season and haven’t been better then the 8th seed since 2001-02. And it wasn’t like they were close either. After squeaking into the playoffs in ’07 they then reeled off 4 seasons in which they did no better then t-27th (4th last) and even came dead last in 2009. So with that being said you’d figure they’d have been stockpiling prospects, building another dynasty. Well yes they did have good draft positions, having not drafted outside the top 10 since 2005 (in year’s they had a first round pick).  Since then they’ve drafted (in reverse order) 7th, 9th, 1st, (John Tavares) and 5th twice. Tavares has shown he can be an elite player and they’ve got two promising prospects in Ryan Strome (this year’s pick) and Calvin De Haan, but aside from that the Islanders have struggled to translate those high picks into all-stars. Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo, Ryan O’Marra, Peterri Nokelainen and Robert Nilsson are just a few examples of draft picks that just never lived up to expectations.
And then there are their managerial debacles, none worse then the never-ending saga of Rick Dipietro. In September of 2006 DiPietro signed a 15-year, $67.5 million contract with the Islanders, thus bounding themselves and $4.5 million a season to the fragile net minder until 2021. In the first two years of the deal he played 125 games and registered 58 wins, but since then has only appeared in 45 of a possible 264 games. In that time the Isles have had a carousel of starters, all failing to prove their worth as #1 starters.
Their problems aren’t just on the ice though. With the vote on a new arena for the Islanders being shot down by the people of Nassau County, the franchise’s future is uncertain past 2015. These factors just add fuel to the fire in a city that is certainly not a prime destination for top tier free agents. Obviously the issue of an ugly jersey pales in comparison to their other problems, but with a team that already looks bad enough out there, this is just another hole in a sinking ship.
5 Worst NHL Jerseys of all time
5. Tampa Bay Lightning
4. New York Islanders
3. L.A. Kings
2. Vancouver Canucks
1. Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Original Story:
http://www.helloniceblog.com/2011-art...
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November 23, 2011
