Why NY Islanders were Dynasty in early 80s?

[Noldo]

I was born in the middle of Islanders dynasty, so unfortunately I have not been able to witness their success personally. But the fact remains that Islanders set the record for 19 (!) straight playoff series, making them definetly one of the greatest dynasties ever [I am not interest on a debate about the comparable merits of different dynasties].

I know that Islanders had collection of exceptional players, especially Denis Potvin, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, all players who are among Top-30 in HHOF Top 100 list.

If I have understood correctly, the coach Al Arbour is an additional huge factor.

However, what actually made Islanders stand that much above all the others?

Not wanting to discredit NYI, but was the overall talent leven in NHL lower in eraly 80s, making the NYIs collection of players truly unique?

Did NY manage to avoid some tought matchups enroute to finals (due the playoff format or otherwise)?

Did they employe game plan that was before its age?

How could they be that dominant?

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[Nalyd Psycho]

I didn't see them play either. But reading up on them, their depth forwards were a real cut above. Much like the Habs dynasty of the 70's they had a great volume of diverse skillsets who could get the most out of what they offered. Lots of clutch role players.

 

[Koivu84*]

Having the right players at the right time

Trottier was the best forward in my opinion
Bossy was the a prolific goal scorer
Potvin is one of the best defensemen to ever play

Aside from the big 3 stars they had some great roleplayers on the team, everyone had a place on the team whether it was first line or fourth line

Billy Smith was a great playoff reformer as well, you can't have a dynasty without a top goalie.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Money goalie in Smith
All-time elite sniper in Bossy
Elite players like Trottier and Potvin
Big mean, talented Gillies
Hard hitting, tough defence with Langevin and Morrow
Playoff performing role players like Nystrom and Goring

 

[brianscot]

It was far more than just talent. The Islanders not only had great skill, but like all multi-championship teams they possessed great character as well.

In people like Mike Bossy and Billy Smith, they owned some truly great clutch performers.

It's been mentioned in these forums before how the Islanders could play it either way -- either a skating game or a grind it out style and still beat you and that might be their ultimate legacy.

From 1973-80, Bill Torrey and company drafted 6 players who ended up scoring over 300 goals; plucked defensive gems like Dave Langevin and Ken Morrow; and successfully brought over Europeans like Stefan Persson and Tom Jonsson.

Top to bottom, just a great organizational effort.

 

[ozzie]

As people have stated, they had 3 superstar players at the right positions. They also had the goaltending and good solid players to fill out their roster.

They had work ethic and they had grit, toughness, heart - whatever word you want to use to describe it. Once they won 1 champion they knew what it took to win it and were willing to sacrifice their bodies.

If you remember what Gretzky said when his Oilers lost to the Islanders ( their 4th cup). Gretzky said when he walked by the Islander dressing room, the players were a wreck, no celebrating, just ice packs, bruises. He went on to say that the Oilers could have played another 7 games easy, but the Islanders could barely make it out of the Arena ( something to that extent ).

Point being, once they won 1 cup, they left nothing on the ice, each and every game to ensure they kept winning.

Top notch coach didn't hurt either.

 

[Big Phil]

A lethal combination of elite players and extreme depth. IMO only the '50 Habs had a team with better depth.

First let's look at the stars. Bossy and Trottier were probably #2-3 in the NHL as far as best players were concerned, take your pick. Potvin was a rock, he played the position well and dominant. He had no weakness. Smith was a money goalie. He took it up a notch in the playoffs. And it always paid off.

Follow that up with some very good players like Gillies, Tonelli, Goring, Nystrom, Sutter (x2), and even Morrow on defense and this was a team that could beat you in so many ways. Melanson was a decent backup goalie too. How many people know he was a 2nd team all-star in '83?

Throw in Arbour behind the bench as well. I cant find a weakness in this team. No matter how hard I look I cant. The only thing - and this is nitpicking a bit - is that you might have wanted to see Smith have more dominant regular seasons ensuring that they have a higher seeding in certain years come playoff time

 

[bruins309]

Did NY manage to avoid some tought matchups enroute to finals (due the playoff format or otherwise)?

I've heard that criticism before, probably because of the 1981 playoffs where they didn't play any of the top 8 teams in the league. But it's not their fault other teams screwed up and got upset. They went 15-3 that year, which is tough to do against anyone.

In 1980, they beat the 1st (Philly), 2nd (Buffalo), and 4th (Boston) best teams in the league from the regular season, going 12-5 en route and never going to a 7th game.

For 1982, they played fairly mediocre teams in the semis and finals (Quebec and Vancouver) but they swept them both. The next year they beat a Bruins team handily that had the best record in the league and swept an Oiler team on the verge of a dynasty. Again, they NEVER had to play a 7th game in ANY of those four years. Very impressive, though they did have to play a game 5 in a best of 5.

 

[Philanthropist]

As people have stated, they had 3 superstar players at the right positions. They also had the goaltending and good solid players to fill out their roster.

They had work ethic and they had grit, toughness, heart - whatever word you want to use to describe it. Once they won 1 champion they knew what it took to win it and were willing to sacrifice their bodies.

If you remember what Gretzky said when his Oilers lost to the Islanders ( their 4th cup). Gretzky said when he walked by the Islander dressing room, the players were a wreck, no celebrating, just ice packs, bruises. He went on to say that the Oilers could have played another 7 games easy, but the Islanders could barely make it out of the Arena ( something to that extent ).

Point being, once they won 1 cup, they left nothing on the ice, each and every game to ensure they kept winning.

Top notch coach didn't hurt either.

I love that story. The moral of it really though was that it was the end of the Islanders dynasty and the beginning of the Oilers.

 

[Pear Juice]

I've heard that criticism before, probably because of the 1981 playoffs where they didn't play any of the top 8 teams in the league. But it's not their fault other teams screwed up and got upset. They went 15-3 that year, which is tough to do against anyone.

In 1980, they beat the 1st (Philly), 2nd (Buffalo), and 4th (Boston) best teams in the league from the regular season, going 12-5 en route and never going to a 7th game.

For 1982, they played fairly mediocre teams in the semis and finals (Quebec and Vancouver) but they swept them both. The next year they beat a Bruins team handily that had the best record in the league and swept an Oiler team on the verge of a dynasty. Again, they NEVER had to play a 7th game in ANY of those four years. Very impressive, though they did have to play a game 5 in a best of 5.

cliché: There are no easy playoff matchups. Can there be a better motivator than getting a chance to wreck a dynasty team? I'd imagine that the players on the opposing team would be either scared, or inspired by it. And if they were scared of losing, they probably would've never made the NHL in the first place.

 

[Diving Pokecheck*]

The Islanders were excellent in everything:
They had elite top end talent: forwards Bossy and Trottier, D-man Potvin, G Smith.
They had incredible role-players as well: Goring, Tonelli, Gillies, Nystrom, Bourne, Sutters, Morrow, Langevin, Persson.
And also a great coach.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Its always good to have a great fighter on your team. Even better if he plays on your first line like Gillies. He didn't have to fight much. He was that scary. Yeah, the Islanders were loaded, they covered all facets of the game.

 

[Trottier]

Most everything that should be said about that dynasty has been said in the preceding posts. I'll simply offer the perspective of one who was treated to (spoiled by) the fun first-hand:

As said, a core of three HOFers. Trottier, Bossy and Potvin are indisputably among the greatest to ever play the game.

The supporting ensemble was, of course, stellar.

And Smith is arguably the greatest money goalie ever. Put it this way: were it not for the playoffs, he is not in the HOF.

Their GM didn't panic. Five straight seasons of coming up short in the playoffs, including two under-achieving postseasons just prior to the run. Some wanted the team blown up, especially when they had an ordinary first 70 games of the 1979-80 season. Torrey was patient. It paid off.

Likewise, a team that learned together from it's failures.

The Habs 76-79 dynasty was the best team I've ever seen, but NYI is a close second. Both were able to beat you at ANY type of game, regularly, which is what differentiates them from other great teams of the last quarter+ century.

***


Whether it's NYI or any great team in any sport, I've always found the claim of "easy opposition" to be a weak one. A weak schedule is not so much a reflection of the opposition as it is a testament to the superiority of the team in question. Put it this way: an "easy" 16 games schedule for the Patriots is a challenging schedule for the Oakland Raiders.

I love that story. The moral of it really though was that it was the end of the Islanders dynasty and the beginning of the Oilers.

If you love the story of Gretzky and the NYI lockeroom at the end of the '83 Finals, you'll like what transpired in the dying moments of Game Five of the Finals in '84, when Edmonton finally ended NYI's reign.

Puck went up ice, Edmonton faithful were going nuts, and Denis Potvin, skating behind the play, raised his arm to the crowd.

When asked after the game why he did so, he said it was his way of honoring the Oilers and their fans, a symbolic passing of the torch (Cup), an acknowledgement of respect for what they accomplished.

 

[MS]

Simply put, they were one of the most complete teams of all time. Just had no weaknesses at all:

- Had the perfect #1 line - elite two-way playmaking center, best sniper in the game, elite PF.
- top-notch scoring depth anchored by great two-way players like John Tonelli and Butch Goring ... in 1981-82 they had 10 forwards with 15+ goals.
- best all-around defender in the game at the time in Denis Potvin
- excellent supplementary defenders who could both move the puck (Persson, Jonsson), or play the body (Morrow, Langevin)
- best clutch goaltender in the game at the time in Billy Smith

Simply put, they were a deep, talented team loaded with quality top-notch two-way players, and had 4 HHOF-bound superstar talents who were money in the clutch. Hard team to beat.

Maybe their only weakness was the lack of an elite #2 defender behind Potvin ... Persson was a fine player and complemented Potvin nicely on the PP, but was not really a true elite player. Note the low regular-season point total the Isles posted in 1979-80 when Potvin missed most of the year due to injury.

 

[greatgazoo]

They had what all Stanley Cup winning teams have including (1) depth down the middle with Trots, Goring and Sutter. (2) great goaltending in Smith. (3) great defense led by Potvin.

Add to that an amazing sniper in Bossy, toughness in Gillies and a nice supporting cast led by Nystrom and you've got the ingredients for an incredible team which they certainly were.

 

[golfortennis]

I was only old enough to see the year Edmonton finally broke through, but from everything I can see, despite his HoF induction, Gillies is a very underrated part of their success. while I grew up on the 80s Oilers and don't think I will ever enjoy a team like I enjoyed them, I find the Oilers were just flat-out more talented than everyone else, while the Islanders, even though they were immensely talented, were a machine. I don't mean that in today's boring "system" thought, but like someone said, they could play it both ways. They just couldn't be beaten. I've watched a few games on Classic or NHL netwok, and you could see the opposition plaing as well as they could, and the Islanders always played just that much better.

I could be way off base, but I would almost hazard a guess teams dreaded playing them far more than the Oilers later on. I don't mean about the physicality. Yes the Oilers could put 10 in your net, but you were likely to get a couple as well, and if your goalie played well.....The Islanders would just put you through a meat grinder. I think they are a forgotten dynasty in history.

 

[WingsFan95]

Yeah 4 straight Cups and 5 straight Finals appearances.

It's a record I do believe.

Cause the 5 cups the Canadiens won in a row were back in the 50s with the original six and there were only 2 rounds.

 

[MXD]

They had the guy who knew how to use his tools to their advantages.
Al Arbour.

BTW, is it Al G. Arbour or Alger Arbour?

 

[Lowetide]

1. They had great drafts all down the line, not just Potvin and Trottier and Gillies and Bossy but just quality with every pick. Take a guy like Tonelli. Comes out of junior early and looks set in the WHA, and even when the Islanders drafted him he stayed with the Aeros for a season. Then they sign him and he's gold for the run.

2. Stunning trades. At the end of May, 1974, the Kansas City Scouts drafted a really good all around athlete named Bob Bourne. He was a very fast skater, smart player, all around skills. He was also an excellent football player and a good enough baseball player to have a brief run in the Astros system. The Scouts didn't know what they had and before TC that fall dealt him to the Islanders for two fringe NHL players. Bob Bourne could play LW, C and in all sitautions and it was players like him that helped give the team very good depth at all positions.

The Islanders built their dynasty with a great deal of help from men few remember. Men like Gerry Ehman and Jimmy Devallano.

 

[greatgazoo]

Gillies was a good baseball player as well and was a teamate of Bourne's when they were in the Astros minor league system. Both from Saskatchewan too!

 

[golfortennis]

I think we've all analyzed this to death. I just realized the secret to their success: Butch Goring's helmet!!

 

[tailgunner]

the islanders got good at the best time, during which there wasn't much competition from other teams, the habs dynasty was over the flyers had a good 1980 team but fell apart, the bruins were on their way out, look at the teams they beat during those playoff years....vancouver,minnesota,quebec,montreal,buffalo,pittsburgh..none of those teams back then were any good, they took advantage of a weak league back then. can't discredit their accomplishments however they won when they had to

 

[Eagle20]

the islanders got good at the best time, during which there wasn't much competition from other teams, the habs dynasty was over the flyers had a good 1980 team but fell apart, the bruins were on their way out, look at the teams they beat during those playoff years....vancouver,minnesota,quebec,montreal,buffalo,pittsburgh..none of those teams back then were any good, they took advantage of a weak league back then. can't discredit their accomplishments however they won when they had to

They weren't a dynasty b/c the rest of the league sucked. They were a dynasty b/c they built one of the best teams in the nhl history.

 

[OpieAnthony]

I think we've all analyzed this to death. I just realized the secret to their success: Butch Goring's helmet!!

I think his dad gave him that helmet when he was 12 years old and he wore it all the way through his pro career. He had to keep repainting it and said it had a layer of paint about an inch thick.

Tailgunner: You don't think that Islanders team could compete strongly against any in history? Regardless of the competition head to head they could play with and beat most if not all teams ever assembled.

 

[IslesFanatic]

They could beat teams at any type of game. They were able to do it all.