1970s Franchise Building Era

Lore & Background

When the Islanders took the ice for the first time in October 1972, they were a curiosity to the rest of the NHL and a distant dream to the folks of Nassau County. The Nassau Coliseum, a multi-purpose arena that had hosted boxing, concerts, and roller derby, was not built for hockey. The boards were close, the sightlines were imperfect, and the team on the ice was a collection of young players trying to find their feet in a league dominated by the Original Six and the Canadian clubs. For the first several seasons, the Islanders finished at or near the bottom of their division, and the national press treated them as the league's punchline.

The turning point came not in a single flash but through a series of patient decisions. Bill Duffy, the Irish-American businessman who had financed the franchise, invested in a stable front office and a coaching structure that emphasized defense and structure over flash. The 1972 draft yielded Denis Potvin, a two-way forward out of Quebec who became the team's first true star and its public face. Mike Borowy, a gritty center acquired early on, added leadership. But it was the 1977 offseason that changed everything: the Islanders traded for Bryan Trottier, a creative playmaker from the New Jersey Devils, and added veteran goaltender Billy Smith to anchor the net. Suddenly the team had a top-line trio with genuine NHL-caliber talent.

The 1977–78 season delivered the Islanders' first playoff berth, and the Long Island faithful—many of whom had never seen their team compete—flooded the Coliseum. The 1978–79 run deepened that belief, and by the 1979–80 season the team was knocking on the door of the Stanley Cup Finals. The 1970s were not the dynasty; they were the soil from which the dynasty grew.

In Their Own Story

October 1972. The Nassau Coliseum smells of fresh paint and sawdust. A sparse crowd—maybe four thousand, maybe fewer—settles into the orange seats as the lights hum to life over a rink that still looks too small for the game being played on it. A young defenseman from Quebec, Potvin, skates through warmups with the loose confidence of a kid who still thinks this is all a bit of a joke. In the stands, a man in a rumpled suit—Duffy—watches with the particular tension of a man who has bet his fortune on a team nobody else believes in. The puck drops. The first shift is clumsy, the boards echo, and a kid in the third row whoops at a blocked shot like it's the most important thing he's ever seen. It is, for him. It will be, for a generation. The Islanders will lose this game, and the next one, and the one after that. But the kid in the third row will come back next week. And the week after that. And by 1978, the Coliseum will be full, and the noise will be a living thing, and nobody on Long Island will ever call this team a joke again.

Reader's Guide

The 1970s Franchise Building Era is the story of a team learning to exist. The narrative arc runs from 1972's awkward first season to 1979–80's arrival in the Stanley Cup Finals, and it is defined by patience, incremental improvement, and the slow cultivation of a fanbase on Long Island that had never before had a professional hockey team.

The early years (1972–75) were defined by struggle. The Islanders finished near the bottom of the NHL, the Coliseum felt empty, and the national narrative was that the expansion team was a white elephant. Bill Duffy kept the franchise afloat financially while the front office built a coaching and development structure that prioritized structure over star power.

The middle years (1975–77) brought the first glimmers. Denis Potvin, the 1972 second-overall pick, emerged as a genuine NHL star. Clark Gillies, drafted in 1976, added offensive punch. The team was still not a contender, but the foundation was being laid.

The 1977 offseason was the hinge. The acquisition of Bryan Trottier and Billy Smith from the New Jersey Devils gave the Islanders a top-six forward and a reliable goaltender. The 1977–78 season produced the franchise's first playoff appearance, and the 1978–79 campaign saw the team push deep into the postseason. By 1979–80, the Islanders were in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time.

This era shaped the franchise's identity as a team built on defense, structure, and Long Island loyalty. It set up the dynasty: the core group of Potvin, Trottier, Smith, Gillies, and Borowy carried directly into the 1980s, where the Islanders would make four straight Finals and win the Cup in 1982.

Did You Know?

• The Islanders were one of three NHL expansion teams added in 1972, alongside the Atlanta Flames and the Vancouver Canucks.
• Denis Potvin was selected 2nd overall in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft and became the franchise's first true superstar and public face.
• The 1977 trade that brought Bryan Trottier and Billy Smith from the New Jersey Devils is widely regarded as the single most important transaction in the franchise's early history.
• The Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale was a multi-purpose venue that hosted boxing, concerts, and other events before and alongside the Islanders' hockey games.