News Article: Charles Wang Dead at 74

[MJF]

Attorney: Charles B. Wang, former Islanders owner, dies

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[MJF]

My sympathies go out to his family.

His tenure as Islanders owner speaks for itself and it's not good.

 

[PWJunior]

RIP Charles.

 

[Duanesutter12]

Sad news. His tenure as owner may have been controversial but he kept the team in New York and I'll forever be thankful of that!

 

[CodeE]

I genuinely believe without Wang, we'd be playing in Kansas City or Seattle right now.

 

[Poulin 0n My St1ck]

Well, that’s certainly news.

 

[seafoam]

 

[bigtim1988]

oh wow that's unfortunate for him and his family. def didn't see it coming

 

[Lights911]

Came out of no where. RIP

 

[seafoam]

RIP

 

[SI90]

Wow. RIP. I believe his heart was always in the right place but he was just in over his head.

 

[xECK29x]

As a long time CA employee I had known of Charles (worked there after he had left) and he really did want to see Long Island become Silicon Valley East. When I worked at Best Buy in Huntington I had sold him a DSLR, this was a few weeks before the Okposo draft, he was pleasant and appreciated my help and recommendations and we talked hockey a bit. Whatever anyone thinks he did save the franchise and gave them a form of stability for a few years. RIP Mr. Wang.

Mod note:

There better be zero bullshit in this thread, there will be no warnings or soft deletes you will get points.

 

[Tres Peleches]

My deepest condolences to his family

 

[PK Cronin]

Wasn't a very good owner because it was obvious what he was trying to do with the team. I'm glad he didn't screw us all and try to move the team elsewhere. Sympathies to the family.

I do wonder who gets that minority share now that he's gone. Not sure it really matters though.

 

[steveat]

His kid is probably in his early 20's and super rich...it's ok. They own Neulion and lots of other assets.

He still owns 10% of the team, right? I guess now his son takes over?

 

[Skip To My Lou]

This came out of nowhere. Thinking of his family at this time. It's a shame.

He wasn't a good owner, but regardless of how I felt about his tenure, I always believed he worked hard to keep the Islanders in New York, so I'm grateful.

RIP.

 

[Thrasymachus]

Not the best owner but definitely crucial in keeping the team on Long Island

RIP

 

[Thrasymachus]

His kid is probably in his early 20's and super rich...it's ok. They own Neulion and lots of other assets.

He still owns 10% of the team, right? I guess now his son takes over?

I would imagine so.

Curious what our new minority owner will do: if he decides to sell, or become or active with the team, or just leave things as they are.

 

[Brunomics]

Wasn't a very good owner because it was obvious what he was trying to do with the team. I'm glad he didn't screw us all and try to move the team elsewhere. Sympathies to the family.

I do wonder who gets that minority share now that he's gone. Not sure it really matters though.

I always get the feeling that if the lighthouse went through we would have a very different opinion of him.

I think his share goes to his family.

 

[Hunn]

I truly honestly believe he singlehandedly saved this storied franchise from relocation and ressurected it from the dark times of Spano/fishsticks/etc. If not for him, this team would go the Hartford way. RIP, Charles Wang.

PS/Edit. Still have a poster/calendar from 2001/02 with the iconic logo and right uniform (albeit of darker shade of blue). I love it. They went from 52 points, last overall, to 96 points, 4th in the conference.

 

[MikeyMike01]

Sad news. His tenure as owner may have been controversial but he kept the team in New York and I'll forever be thankful of that!

In the same way that abused wives should be thankful they aren’t homeless.

I have nothing nice to say about Wang, and I’ll leave it at that.

 

[Bill Herlyn]

RIP Charles Wang.

 

[Drivefor5]

RIP Charles Wang

Like him or not he did bring "some stability" and "respectability" back to the team during the early part of his tenure. If you think about some of his less than stellar moves as the owner and the fact that despite his moves the Islanders were still considered more stable and respectable then at other times in their history. That fact should say all you need to know about some of the darker days of our sorted past and his place in Islanders history. He did share our passion to keep the team in LI and to rebuild the Coliseum.

We obviously had much worse:

"Spano" and "Gang of Four"

 

[doublechili]

None of us knows the full story, but a lot of people who seem to be in the know believe that he saved the franchise from relocation. So, leaving aside anything else relating to his ownership, RIP.

 

[YearlyLottery]

RIP Wang, regardless of his workings for the Islander franchise sucks to see him pass away at an early age.