Most teams, even the greatest franchises such as the Islanders who have ever played the game- Detroit, Montreal, Colorado, NJ, Lightning, Philly etc.... have gone through periods of irrelevancy. It's up to each franchise to prove themselves relevant again. The Rangers strictly speaking as in what have they accomplished especially in the modern era have been largely irrelevant but it's the homer fans that make them appear irrelevant. NYC and it's boroughs just give that franchise more opportunities to have more homers rooting for that team. But the Islander's with their 19 straight playoff series victories and 4 straight Cups make them one of the if not the greatest franchise in the modern era. What you say here doesn't change that FACT. An Cup in 94 won by the Edmonton Oiler's core doesn't impress me much. As of now neither of these teams are relevant until they prove something. They've both been stale for decades though I do remember the Isles making 2 back to back ECF not too long ago so that might be saying something.