If all goes well, they will be able to move out of the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn -- on the physical Long Island but not on the political or cultural one -- to this new arena for the 2021-22 season. Meaning 3 more seasons at Barclays.
I know what you're thinking: "The Islanders? Are they even still in the League? I thought they moved years ago."
You're almost right: They almost did. Their lease at the Nassau Coliseum was going to run out in 2015, and they knew it was coming, and they knew that new arenas had gone up all over the country, hoping to land a hockey team. Kansas City was considered the favorite. But they made a deal to move to Brooklyn, and the Coliseum has since been redeveloped, as an up-to-date arena with fewer seats.
But the Islanders, a Playoff juggernaut from 1975 to 1987, and winners of 4 straight Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983, have been pretty much irrelevant for a quarter of a century. Their last serious run at the Cup came in 1993, when they beat the Washington Capitals and then the Pittsburgh Penguins, before falling to the eventual champions, the Montreal Canadiens, in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals.
It was an inspiring, courageous run, and, when it was over, the Isles had no reason to hang their heads, except maybe from exhaustion.
They haven't been to the Conference Finals since. In 25 years, they've made the Playoffs only 8 times, the last in 2016. They've won just 1 postseason series, a Conference Quarterfinal against the Florida Panthers in 2016. In 25 years, they've won just 16 Playoff games.
That last great run ended on May 24, 1993. Twenty-five years. A quarter of a century. How long has that been?
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Al Arbour was in his 2nd go-around as head coach of the Islanders. Their players included right wings Patrick Flatley (their Captain), Brian Mullen and Tom Fitzgerald; left wings Steve Thomas and Derek King; centers Pierre Turgeon, Benoit Hogue, Ray Ferraro, Travis Green and 1988 New Jersey Devil Claud Loiselle; defensemen Vladimir Malakhov, Jeff Norton, Uwe Krupp, Rich Pilon, another 1988 Devil in Tom Kurvers, and rookie Darius Kasparaitis; and goaltender Glenn Healey.
Their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, hadn't won the Stanley Cup in 54 years. They now have. The Detroit Red Wings hadn't won it in 38 years. They have since won 4. The Chicago Blackhawks hadn't won it in 32 years. They have since won 3. The Boston Bruins hadn't won it in 21 years. They have since won 1. The Toronto Maple Leafs hadn't won it in 26 years. They... uh, let's move on.
The Devils, the team then known as the Quebec Nordiques, the team then known as the Minnesota North Stars, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team then known as the Hartford Whalers, the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings had never won the Stanley Cup.
The Devils, the Nords, the Kings, the Florida Panthers, the Whalers, the Ducks, the Washington Capitals, the Lightning, the new Ottawa Senators, the San Jose Sharks, the Nashville Predators and the Vegas Golden Knights had never reached the Stanley Cup Finals.
The North Stars hadn't yet moved to become the Dallas Stars. The Nords hadn't yet moved to become the Colorado Avalanche. The Whalers hadn't yet moved to become the Carolina Hurricanes. The Winnipeg Jets hadn't yet moved to become the Phoenix, now Arizona, Coyotes. The Panthers, the Ducks, the Predators, the Atlanta Thrashers, the Minnesota Wild, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Golden Knights didn't even exist yet. And the Thrashers hadn't yet moved to become the new Winnipeg Jets.
All those facts have since changed.
Of the 24 teams then in the National Hockey League, all but 2 have since moved into new arenas: The New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames. Only 5 NBA teams will play the 2018-19 season in the same arena in which they played the 1992-93 season: The New York Knicks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns, and the Golden State Warriors -- and the Dubs are moving for the 2019-20 season.
There are 9 MLB teams playing in their 1993 stadiums: Both Chicago teams, both Los Angeles area teams, Boston, Oakland, Kansas City, Toronto and Baltimore. Only 6 NFL teams are playing in the same stadiums: The Green Bay Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills, the New Orleans Saints, the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders -- and the Raiders are probably moving for the 2019 season.
Hockey legends Murray Murdoch, Red Horner, Mush March, Toe Blake, Lorne Carr, Syl Apps, Harry Watson and Maurice Richard were still alive.
Most of the defining hockey figures of my childhood were now in the Hall of Fame: Bobby Orr, Ken Dryden, Phil Esposito, Bobby Clarke, Darryl Sittler, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Guy Lafleur. Larry Robinson was newly retired, and Bryan Trottier was wrapping up his career.
Martin Brodeur had just finished his rookie season with the Devils. Patrik Elias and Zdeno Chara were in Czechoslovakia's version of high school -- and the country had just split up into the Czech Republic (Elias) and Slovakia (Chara).
Henrik Zetterberg was 12 years old, Henrik Lundqvist 11, Andy Greene 10; Rich Nash and Marc-Andre Fleury 8; Alexander Ovechkin, Jonathan Quick and Cory Schneider 7; Evgeni Malkin and T.J. Oshie 6; Sidney Crosby, Carey Price, Claude Giroux and Jonathan Toews 5; Sergei Bobrovsky, Patrick Kane and P.K. Subban 4; Ryan McDonagh and Steven Stamkos 3; John Tavares 2; Aretemi Panarin and Taylor Hall 1 1/2; and Connor McDavid and Nico Hischier hadn't been born yet.
Doug Weight, now the head coach of the Islanders, was playing for... the Rangers. David Quinn of the Rangers was playing for the minor-league Cleveland Lumberjacks. John Hynes of the Devils was in high school. So was Mickey Callaway of the Mets.
Pat Shurmur of the Giants was an assistant coach at Michigan State. Todd Bowles of the Jets was playing for the Washington Redskins. Kenny Atkinson of the Nets was playing in Spain's basketball league. Aaron Boone of the Yankees was at the University of Southern California. Jesse Marsch of the Red Bulls was at Princeton University. David Fizdale of the Knicks was at the University of San Diego. And Patrick Vieira of NYCFC was in the youth system of French club Tours FC.
The defending World Champions were the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bulls. Riddick Bowe was the Heavyweight Champion of the World. The Olympic Games have since been held in America twice, Norway, Japan, Australia, Greece, Italy, China, Canada, Britain and Russia. Soccer's World Cup has since been held in America, France, Japan, Korea, Germany, South Africa and Brazil.
The idea that corporations were "people," and entitled to the rights and protections thereof, was considered ridiculous. Then again, so was the idea that two people of the same gender could marry each other with all the rights and protections of marriage. Of the 9 Justices then on the U.S. Supreme Court, only 2 remain: Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas, although Ruth Bader Ginsburg was days away from being appointed to the vacancy in the seat of the retiring Byron White.
The President of the United States was Bill Clinton -- who, of course, was married to Hillary Clinton. Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, their wives, and the widows of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were all still alive.
George W. Bush was 47, failing as owner of the Texas Rangers, already a 3-times-failed businessman and a once-failed candidate for Congress, and was wondering what he was going to do with his life. Barack Obama was a civil rights attorney in Chicago, who had not yet run for public office. His wife Michelle was running a nonprofit organization.
Donald Trump was preparing to divorce Wife 1, Ivana Trump, and marry Wife 2, Marla Maples. Guests at the wedding included Rosie O'Donnell and O.J. Simpson. That's how long ago this was: Not only did The Donald have only 1 wife by this point, but he was still friends with both Rosie and O.J., and nobody thought that was a bad thing.
The Governor of the State of New York was Mario Cuomo; his son, Andrew, now Governor himself, was then Assistant Secretary of Housing & Urban Development. The Mayor of the City of New York was David Dinkins, but he was about to lose the office to Rudy Giuliani; the current Mayor, Bill de Blasio, was then an aide to Dinkins.
The Prime Minister of Canada was Kim Campbell, who had just taken office, and was thus left to take the battering in a federal election because outgoing PM Brian Mulroney was a coward. Jean Chretien would soon be Prime Minister.
The monarch of Canada, and of Great Britain, was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed -- but the Prime Minister was John Major. Manchester United had won England's Premier League the previous spring, while Arsenal became the 1st team ever to take both domestic cup competitions: The FA Cup and the League Cup.
There were still living veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Easter Rising. The last veteran of the Boer War had just died. There were still living people who had survived the Johnstown Flood of 1889, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and the sinkings of the PS General Slocum, the RMS Titanic, the RMS Empress of Ireland, the SS Eastland and the RMS Lusitania.
The holder of the Nobel Peace Prize, perhaps dubiously, was Rigoberta Menchú. The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Francis, was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Bishop of Oca in Spain. There have since been 4 Presidents of the United States, 5 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 3 Popes.
Major novels of 1993 included Honor Among Thieves by Jeffrey Archer, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, The Client by John Grisham, Death In the Andes by Maria Vargas Llosa, and Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Historian Stephen Ambrose published Band of Brothers, immortalizing a U.S. Army unit marching through Europe in World War II.
Stephen King was writing Insomnia. George R.R. Martin had begun writing the 1st book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, whose title would be given to the entire HBO series based on the books: A Game of Thrones. J.K. Rowling was working on her 1st Harry Potter novel, and about to have her 1st child. No one had yet heard of Bridget Jones, Robert Langdon, Lisbeth Salander, Bella Swan or Katniss Everdeen.
Major films premiering in the Spring of 1993 included the baseball-themed The Sandlot, the Presidential take on the "Prince and the Pauper" story Dave, the video game adaptation Super Mario Bros., Indecent Proposal, Lost In Yonkers, Cliffhanger, The Last Action Hero, and, most notably, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park.
The James Bond franchise was in transition, with Pierce Brosnan about to be cast. The Doctor Who franchise was also in transition, and Sylvester McCoy was still the most recent Doctor. Superman films were in "development hell," while Michael Keaton would not be brought back for a 3rd film as Batman.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Homicide: Life on the Street, Beavis and Butt-head and Walker, Texas Ranger had all recently debuted. Doogie Howser, M.D., Major Dad, Reasonable Doubts, Quantum Leap, The Wonder Years, Knots Landing, Cheers, Saved by the Bell, Life Goes On and Designing Women had all aired their last first-run episodes.
No one had yet heard of Andy Sipowicz, Ross Geller & Rachel Greene, Doug Ross, Xena, Carrie Bradshaw, Tony Soprano, Jed Bartlet, Jack Bauer, Omar Little, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Michael Bluth, Michael Scott, Don Draper, Walter White, Jax Teller, Richard Castle, Leslie Knope, Sarah Manning or Jane "Eleven" Hopper.
The Number 1 song in America was "That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson. Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Vince Welnick of San Francisco's own Grateful Dead sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Giants' home opener. Donald Trump couldn't be reached for comment.
Paul McCartney headlined an Earth Day concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where he'd performed with the Beatles in 1964 and 1965. With him were fellow former Beatle Ringo Starr, former Eagle Don Henley, and Steve Miller. A Broadway musical version of The Who's rock opera Tommy opened. Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles married screenwriter Jay Roach, and they're still together; while Mariah Carey married her boss, Tommy Mottola, but it didn't last long; and Lisa Bonet divorced Lenny Kravitz.
Frank Sinatra was just about to begin recording his last great album, Duets. Elvis Presley's stamp was newly-released. Bob Dylan turned 52 that day, and was recording his album World Gone Wrong. Michael Jackson launched the last tour he would have before the black cloud that would hang over the rest of his life would arrived.
Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.74 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 29 cents, and a New York Subway ride $1.25. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.17, a cup of coffee $1.65, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $5.30, a movie ticket $4.12, a new car $16,829, and a new house $148,900. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed that day at 3,507.78.
The tallest building in the world was the Sears Tower in Chicago. Personal computers were now everywhere, but most people still hadn't heard of the Internet. There was America Online, but no Netscape, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram, no Pinterest, no Wikipedia, no Skype. There were mobile telephones, but they were still of the flip-open variety, and roughly the size of the original Star Trek series' communicators.
In the Spring of 1993, the entire national soccer team of Zambia was killed in a plane crash. Eritrea declared independence from Ethiopia. President Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka was assassinated. Mongolia held its 1st direct elections. Juan Carlos Wasmosy was sworn in as the 1st democratically elected President of Paraguay in 39 years. And New Jersey Nets star Dražen Petrović was killed in a car crash in Germany.
In America, auto racer Alan Kulwicki was killed in a crash -- not of a race car, but of a plane, in Tennessee. And outside Waco, Texas, David Koresh, a pedophile, bigamist and gun nut with a messianic complex ordered the murder of his 75 remaining Branch Davidian followers, and committed suicide, rather than accept arrest by the federal government.
Marian Anderson, and Cesar Chavez, and Jim Valvano died. Halston Sage, and Miguel Sanó, and Romelu Lukaku were born.
May 24, 1993: The New York Islanders played in what would now be called the NHL Eastern Conference Finals. They have not made another serious run at the Stanley Cup in 25 years, a quarter of a century.
Now, they have Lou Lamoriello as their general manager. Will he work his magic on the Isles, the way he did on the New Jersey Devils? Or will the failure of the last 3 years of his Devils tenure, and the 3 seasons of failure he's since had with the Toronto Maple Leafs, be repeated in Brooklyn (and Elmont)? Stay tuned.
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