Once upon a time, the New York Islanders were the embodiment of greatness: four-time Stanley Cup champions and a model franchise in the National Hockey League during the early '80s. The dynasty quickly crumbled, however, and the team found itself in a seemingly never-ending freefall. One embarrassing episode after another befell the once-mighty Islanders: Kirk Muller balked at being traded to the team; the team's classic logo was replaced with one that was vehemently ridiculed, earning the team the nickname "Fish Sticks"; a slick con artist managed to buy the team with nothing more than his charm; the team failed to make the playoffs seven seasons in a row as miserly owners purged players salaries; Hall of Fame great Bryan Trottier feuded with the team and blocked the retirement of his jersey; embattled general manager "Mad Mike" Milbury couldn't do anything to get himself fired. Yet, having finally hit bottom after enduring countless trials and near-unbelievable tribulations, the team has begun its climb to the top. New owner Charles Wang has brought not only a desire to return the Islanders to their place of pride, but also the money to do it. The team experienced a remarkable resurgence during the 2001-02 season. Ticket sales have skyrocketed since that breakthrough success, with the team expecting to fight its way back into the playoffs for a second straight season.

The NHL’s New York Islanders were struggling. After winning four straight Stanley Cups in the early 1980s, the Islanders had suffered an embarrassing sweep by their geographic rivals, the New York Rangers, in the first round of the 1994 playoffs. Hoping for a new start, the Islanders swapped out their distinctive logo, which featured the letters NY and a map of Long Island, for a cartoon fisherman wearing a rain slicker and gripping a hockey stick. The new logo immediately drew comparisons to the mascot for Gorton’s frozen seafood, and opposing fans taunted the team with chants of “We want fish sticks!” During a rebranding process that lasted three torturous seasons, the Islanders unveiled a new mascot, new uniforms, new players, a new coach, and a new owner that were supposed to signal a return to championship glory. Instead, the team and its fans endured a twenty-eight-month span more humiliating than what most franchises witness over twenty-eight years. The Islanders thought they had traded for a star player to inaugurate the fisherman era, but he initially refused to report and sulked until the general manager banished him. Fans beat up the new mascot in the stands. The new coach shoved and spit at players. The Islanders were sold to a supposed billionaire who promised to buy elite players; he turned out to be a con artist and was sent to prison. We Want Fish Sticks examines this era through period sources and interviews with the people who lived it.

The National Hockey League saw the birth of a new dynasty in 1980. The New York Islanders had been an expansion franchise in 1972 in the New York City suburbs of Long Island. For years they played in the long shadow of the big-city New York Rangers and were considered the league’s laughingstock during their first season. Miraculously, eight years later, they were champions. Despite their mercurial rise in the 1970s—which included a first-place overall finish in the 1978-79 season—the Islanders were still considered chokers because of playoff failures. The most frustrating failure of all came at the hands of the rival Rangers, who beat them in 1979 to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. A year later they stumbled through an injury-plagued and inconsistent regular season. When the playoffs arrived again, however, they were ready. Bolstered by the late-season addition of speedy center Butch Goring and the bitterness of the previous year’s defeat, the Islanders overcame their past failures and put together an exhausting and dramatic run to their first-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals they met the still-dominant Philadelphia Flyers, two-time champions in the 1970s. The ensuing battle demonstrated not only the promise with which the Islanders had always teased their fans, but also the maddening struggles that seemed to hold them back every year. That is, until Game Six, when Bob Nystrom, an everyman’s everyman, scored the clinching goal at 7:11 of overtime to make history in both the NHL and on Long Island. It is a moment that still lives in the hearts of Islanders fans and in the annals of Long Island, as a region and a community. It is a moment that spawned a run of four consecutive championships, the longest by any United States-based professional team and a run that has since gone unmatched. Newly revised, Birth of a Dynasty: The 1980 New York Islanders is the story of how it happened, how it came together, and what it felt like to be there.

Ask any hockey historian about the greatest all-time teams, and the 1980-1984 New York Islanders are sure to be towards the top of their list. Assembled by general manager Bill Torrey and taught the art of dominance by head coach Al Arbour, the Islanders of this era included such subsequent Hall of Famers as Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Clark Gillies, and Billy Smith, and won four consecutive Stanley Cups. Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders, 1972-1984 focuses solely on this period of the Islanders. Comprised of nearly 30 all-new, exclusive interviews with players, coaches, trainers, broadcasters, and a celebrity fan, the book is not only a genuine account of the Islanders from this time, but also, of the National Hockey League in general. Set up in the oral history format, Dynasty reads like a documentary, but in book form, as the participants weigh in on the ups and downs of the Islanders, and pull no punches in their recollections and opinions.

Featuring traditions, records, and lore, this his lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and facts every New York Islanders fan should know. Whether you were there for each of the franchise's four Stanley Cups or are just diving in, these are the 100 things every fan needs to know and do in their lifetime. The Athletic's Arthur Staple has collected every essential piece of Isles knowledge, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all from 1 to 100. Covering important dates, behind-the-scenes tales, memorable moments, and outstanding achievements by the likes of Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, and Billy Smith, this is the ultimate resource guide for all Islanders faithful.

This exciting book provides young readers an inside look at the New York Islanders, from the team's formation up to the present day. The book includes a table of contents, team facts, additional resources links, a glossary, and an index.

Did you know that the New York Islanders won the Stanley Cup championship four years in a row? Under the guidance of coach Al Arbour, the New York Islanders began consistently reaching the playoffs only a few seasons after the team was created. Discover more exciting facts about this dynamic franchise in New York Islanders, an Inside the NHL book.