Greatest Islanders player ever (poll)

[yave1964]

Clark Gillies)

  Quite a deep list, all things considered,not surprisingly the best Isles ever come from their 4 straight Stanley Cup run, with men such as Gillies and Nystrom not even making the list. Others left off were Lafontaine and the always underrated Brent Sutter. I think I got the list right, happy voting.

 

BRYAN TROTTIER: Isles all time leading scorer with 1353 points with 500 goals and 853 assists. He won four cups on the Island and two more in Pittsburgh. He appeared in 8 all star games, won the Calder as the leagues top rookie, the Hart as the leagues MVP and a Smythe as the top postseason performer. 2 time first team all star and twice made the second team.

 

MIKE BOSSY: Super sniper extraordinaire Bossy is first all time in Isles history with 573 goals and second in scoring with 1126 points in a career that ended early do to injuries. Had the 50 goals in 50 games that put him on the map, 7 all star games, won a Calder and a Smythe, 5 time first team and 3 time second team all star, led the league in goal scored twice and broke 60 five times, all in a career that ended at the age of 30.

 

'BATTLIN' BILLY SMITH: Even after all of these years he is still nearly double the next closest competitor on the Isles list of goalie stats in every important stat. He leads in virtually everything, games, wins, (304) won four cups. Led the league in wins once, won a Vezina, won a Smythe, and dared anyone to venture too close to his crease.

 

DENIS POTVIN: The most hated Isle ever among Ranger fans, every now and then even today Potvin Sucks can be heard raining down from the crowd ina game. third all time in goals among all islanders with 310 and 3rd all time in points with 1052 and 4th all time in penalty minutes, a perfect rugged puck moving back end player. He won a Calder, was a five time first team all star and most importantly won three Norris trophies as the leagues top defender.

 

AL ARBOUR: One of the few coaches who will appear on this list, Arbour was the coach who not only won four straight cups with the team but who built this team full of young talented players into what they became. Second behind the legendary Scotty Bowman in most coaching categories, he led the team to 7 100 point seasons, since he left in 1994 they have made the playoffs only six times and never made it past the first round.

 

WHO AM I? Came to the Islanders in the Expansion draft, 'Spinner' also played for the Leafs Sabres and Penguins.

[intheslot]

Billy Smith  most underrated ...

[Bertmega]

Bossy all the way. I think if he never had the back issues and played another seven to eight years, he'd probably would have eclipsed 700 goals.

[ScottM]

I think you got the list correct too, and these are all very worthy candidates. I have to go with Bossy. Among right wingers, I rank only Howe and Richard higher. I agree with @Bertmega that he would have hit 700 goals if not for his back, and he may have made a serious run at 800. Honestly, I don't know how he never scored 70 in a season.

 

Brian Spencer in the photo?

[JagerMeister]

This is patently one of the more difficult Polls for greatest franchise player ever.

 

You have Bryan Trottier, who was the most complete player out of the options to choose from. 

 

Billy Smith is the greatest goalie the Islanders have ever had and it's not debatable.

 

Mike Bossy is  the greatest offensive force the islanders have ever had. Although his stats are somewhat inflated due to the fact that he never played a game outside of his prime, excluding his first years. 

 

My personal choice for this poll though has to be Denis Potvin. I have heard from fans that have had the fortune of watching  him play claim that his peak was only rivaled by Orr himself. Generally considered amongst hockey fans a top 5 defenseman of all time.

[JagerMeister]

I fail to understand why the majority would pick Bossy over Trottier. Yes, Bossy is undoubtedly one of the greatest goal scorers of all time. Bryan Trottier's offensive production is moderately comparable to Bossy, Yet it's exactly the opposite when comparing Trottier's defensive ability to Bossy. 

 

Trottier

Points 
1977-78 NHL 123 (2)
1978-79 NHL 134 (1)
1979-80 NHL 104 (6)
1980-81 NHL 103 (10)
1981-82 NHL 129 (5)
1983-84 NHL 111 (8)
Career NHL 1425 (16)

 

Bossy

Points 

1977-78 NHL 91 (6)
1978-79 NHL 126 (4)
1980-81 NHL 119 (4)
1981-82 NHL 147 (2)
1982-83 NHL 118 (4)
1983-84 NHL 118 (5)
1984-85 NHL 117 (6)
1985-86 NHL 123 (5)
Career NHL 1126 (55)

 

Removing Gretzky from the equation, Bossy wins 1 Art Ross. But never finishes 2nd in points. Trottier wins an Art Ross and finishes 2nd in points the year before. Their offensive peaks are very comparable, Bossy was just more consistent with his offensive production. Even then, Trottier was one of the best two way forwards during his top ten point finishes. Never heard Bossy's defensive prowess be praised.

[mojo1917]

tough one between Trottier and Bossy but when I thought about this without looking at the choices, Bossy came to mind . he was pretty talented, another one of those coulda shoulda woulda guys and he was still pretty great.

[yave1964]

I think you got the list correct too, and these are all very worthy candidates. I have to go with Bossy. Among right wingers, I rank only Howe and Richard higher. I agree with @Bertmega that he would have hit 700 goals if not for his back, and he may have made a serious run at 800. Honestly, I don't know how he never scored 70 in a season.

 

Brian Spencer in the photo?

Yep, Brian 'Spinner' Spencer in the photo, tragedy rode alongside of him throughout his short life, a good solid grinding spear carrier.

[ScottM]

I fail to understand why the majority would pick Bossy over Trottier. Yes, Bossy is undoubtedly one of the greatest goal scorers of all time. Bryan Trottier's offensive production is moderately comparable to Bossy, Yet it's exactly the opposite when comparing Trottier's defensive ability to Bossy. 

 

Trottier

Points 

1977-78 NHL 123 (2)

1978-79 NHL 134 (1)

1979-80 NHL 104 (6)

1980-81 NHL 103 (10)

1981-82 NHL 129 (5)

1983-84 NHL 111 (8)

Career NHL 1425 (16)

 

Bossy

Points 

1977-78 NHL 91 (6)

1978-79 NHL 126 (4)

1980-81 NHL 119 (4)

1981-82 NHL 147 (2)

1982-83 NHL 118 (4)

1983-84 NHL 118 (5)

1984-85 NHL 117 (6)

1985-86 NHL 123 (5)

Career NHL 1126 (55)

 

Removing Gretzky from the equation, Bossy wins 1 Art Ross. But never finishes 2nd in points. Trottier wins an Art Ross and finishes 2nd in points the year before. Their offensive peaks are very comparable, Bossy was just more consistent with his offensive production. Even then, Trottier was one of the best two way forwards during his top ten point finishes. Never heard Bossy's defensive prowess be praised.

 

Bossy's contributions were more direct offense, and that gives him an advantage on the offensive side. If two guys have 100 points in a season, but one has 30 goals and the other has 50, the guy with 50 is going to get the nod on offense, obviously. Trottier scored 50 only once; Bossy did it nine times.

 

But, even without that, Bossy still comes out ahead when looking at only points, as seen in your post. Trottier's high water mark was 134 points. Bossy's was 147. Trottier had six 100 point seasons; Bossy had seven. All of that is from 18 seasons for Trottier and 10 for Bossy. Remove the injuries from Bossy's equation, and I have no doubt that the number of 50 goal seasons (maybe even one or two more 60 goal seasons if he didn't lose games before his retirement), and the number of 100 point seasons grows.

 

I'm not saying that Trottier wasn't good offensively. I'm not saying that at all. He was. But, Mike Bossy was a good bit ahead of him in my book. Yes, Trottier was better defensively, there's no question, but Mike Bossy's goal-scoring stats put him in extremely rarefied air offensively -- as in the Gretzky-Lemieux-Howe-Richard-Hull region.

[yave1964]

I went with Potvin, much of the argument that folks made for Robinson for the Habs could easily be made for Potvin, in some ways even more so. Potvin was Shea Weber and more.

  Bossy was brilliant in a short career. Trottier is the all time leading scorer in Isles history and it surprises me that he has received no votes as of yet. Jethro Gillies was the consumate power forward. Battlin' Billy was a nasty bit of goods in net.

 

  But to me it has to be Potvin, a thousand point career, rugged, hard hitting, ran the power play and killed penalties, three Norris trophies, all well earned.

[FD19372]

I would give the nod to Trottier as best all-time Islander. Trottier was their #1 faceoff guy, power play player on one of the greatest power play teams in the history of the game, very good skater and was great at getting the puck to Bossy, Gillies, Nystrom, Tonelli, etc... He was also somewhat instrumental in helping the Penguins win two Cups in 1991 and 1992. To me, it was between he, Potvin and Bossy, who was the best sniper on those Cup teams. Getting to 60 goals 5 times in any era in a season can't be overlooked. Pat LaFontaine was there at the end of their reign and should also get some consideration. Leon Stickle should be on that list of great Islanders as well. What a seventh man.

[JagerMeister]

Bossy's contributions were more direct offense, and that gives him an advantage on the offensive side. If two guys have 100 points in a season, but one has 30 goals and the other has 50, the guy with 50 is going to get the nod on offense, obviously. Trottier scored 50 only once; Bossy did it nine times.

 

But, even without that, Bossy still comes out ahead when looking at only points, as seen in your post. Trottier's high water mark was 134 points. Bossy's was 147. Trottier had six 100 point seasons; Bossy had seven. All of that is from 18 seasons for Trottier and 10 for Bossy. Remove the injuries from Bossy's equation, and I have no doubt that the number of 50 goal seasons (maybe even one or two more 60 goal seasons if he didn't lose games before his retirement), and the number of 100 point seasons grows.

 

I'm not saying that Trottier wasn't good offensively. I'm not saying that at all. He was. But, Mike Bossy was a good bit ahead of him in my book. Yes, Trottier was better defensively, there's no question, but Mike Bossy's goal-scoring stats put him in extremely rarefied air offensively -- as in the Gretzky-Lemieux-Howe-Richard-Hull region.

Convincing argument, I would  say though that Bossy is a close but evident step ahead of Trottier offensively, Trottier is in another league defensively.

 its just that the gap between them offensively is not as significant as the gap between them in defensive prowess. 

 

Also, the final season of Bossy's career he was not on pace for 100 points or 50 goals although very close throughout 82 games, perhaps he would just barely reach 100 points or have a stellar last 20 games. But that could have possibly been the last time he hit 100 points and 50 goals

[JackStraw]

I went with Potvin, much of the argument that folks made for Robinson for the Habs could easily be made for Potvin, in some ways even more so. Potvin was Shea Weber and more.

  Bossy was brilliant in a short career. Trottier is the all time leading scorer in Isles history and it surprises me that he has received no votes as of yet. Jethro Gillies was the consumate power forward. Battlin' Billy was a nasty bit of goods in net.

 

  But to me it has to be Potvin, a thousand point career, rugged, hard hitting, ran the power play and killed penalties, three Norris trophies, all well earned.

 

He's a horrible TV commentator and I think even his team-mates thought he was a jerk, but he gets my vote too.

[ScottM]

Convincing argument, I would  say though that Bossy is a close but evident step ahead of Trottier offensively, Trottier is in another league defensively.

 its just that the gap between them offensively is not as significant as the gap between them in defensive prowess. 

 

Also, the final season of Bossy's career he was not on pace for 100 points or 50 goals although very close throughout 82 games, perhaps he would just barely reach 100 points or have a stellar last 20 games. But that could have possibly been the last time he hit 100 points and 50 goals

 

Bossy was strongly feeling the effects of his back in his final season as I've always understood it. I personally believe that it held him back that year and that a healthy Bossy would have performed better. Remember, he didn't originally intend to retire after the 86-87 season. He only meant to rest his back. That tells me that he felt that he was being hampered that year. I still think that if you take away the bad back his numbers that season would have been much bigger.

[JackStraw]

Not to be nit-picky, but why is Arbour in a poll for greatest Islanders player? He retired before the Isles even came into existence. Greatest coach in their history for sure.

[ruxpin]

This one was really hard for me, but ultimately I went with Potvin.

 

He was just the glue.  Top 5 dman on my list.    My thought when I first read the thread title was Bossy/Trots ....Trots/Bossy...Bossy/Trots...POTVIN.   I like all three.  And Billy Smith is one of my all-time favorite goalies.  I just loved the way he played the game.

 

But I have to go with Potvin.

[FD19372]

Oh, and in addition to what I said previously on Trottier he was one of the better defensive forwards in the NHL.

[FD19372]

Billy Smith  most underrated ...

I'm not as big a fan of him as some. I don't think he was that underrated. He was good, but not great. He benefited from having the best coached and most talented defensive core in front of him in the league by a wide margin when he played.

[yave1964]

Not to be nit-picky, but why is Arbour in a poll for greatest Islanders player? He retired before the Isles even came into existence. Greatest coach in their history for sure.

I stuck Arbour on there as a lark. I was debating between Gillies and Lafontaine and Sutter and decided that none were really worthy. Looking for a 5th, I finally went a bit quirky and went with Al Arbour who was never an Isle player but was one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game and spent two decades making the Isles great and then keeping them in the conversation even after their glory days. Just threw him in on a lark.

[JackStraw]

@yave1964 - figured it was something like that

[ScottM]

This one was really hard for me, but ultimately I went with Potvin.

 

He was just the glue.  Top 5 dman on my list.    My thought when I first read the thread title was Bossy/Trots ....Trots/Bossy...Bossy/Trots...POTVIN.   I like all three.  And Billy Smith is one of my all-time favorite goalies.  I just loved the way he played the game.

 

But I have to go with Potvin.

 

Potvin would be my next pick. He's top five for me as well. His all-around game was very impressive.

[JagerMeister]

I'm not as big a fan of him as some. I don't think he was that underrated. He was good, but not great. He benefited from having the best coached and most talented defensive core in front of him in the league by a wide margin when he played.

 

   In the time of Smith's Conn Smythe win. Bossy had 17 goals and 26 points in a span of 19 games, Bryan Trottier was above ppg while contributing with stellar defense, and Potvin was exactly a PPG while being the greatest defensive force on the team. Yet somehow Smith was seemingly capable enough to win the Conn Smyth over the likes of them. That seems stellar enough to be considered great to me.

[jammer2]

  Despite Bossy being one of the very best goal scorers of all time....I have to go with Trotts. He was all round, the best player in the league until Gretz entered the fray. He as as good defensively as he was offensively, which is quite the statement.