The New York Islanders have a rich history including a great dynasty in the 1980s. From the championship teams with Mike Bossy to a great run in recent Islanders history, playoff teams are found up and down this list.
The four championship teams take the first four spots on this top ten list. The Islanders also had great years around those runs, all combining for one of the strongest lists in the league.
Greatest Islanders team in history: 1981-82
The third title of the Islanders' dynasty takes the top spot on this list. This team combined regular-season excellence with postseason success for the first time. They won a franchise record 54 games in the regular season, led by 147 points from Mike Bossy. From January 21 to February 20 they won 15 consecutive games, the fourth-longest streak in league history.
Bryan Trottier led the team in the playoffs with 23 assists and 29 points while the late Mike Bossy scored 17 goals. They went 15-4 in the playoffs, including sweeps of the Quebec Nordiques in the semi-final and Vancouver Canucks in the Final. Bossy won the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP and Billy Smith won the Vezina Trophy for top regular-season goaltender.
#2: 1980-81
Championship number two comes in at number two on the Islanders' top ten teams list. They were the top team in the regular season with 110 points. Bossy once again led the team with 68 goals and 119 points in the regular season. Those 68 goals were the most in the entire league. He was a first-team All-Star along with Denis Potvin.
Butch Goring won the Conn Smythe largely because of his Cup Final hat trick. The Islanders went 15-3 in the playoffs and finished it off by beating the North Stars in five games. It became very clear after these playoffs that the Islanders were a budding dynasty.
#3: 1982-83
The final Stanley Cup saw the Islanders take down the Oilers in a sweep. The regular season was not quite as impressive as the previous two years, only racking up 96 points and finishing fourth in the Prince of Wales Conference. It was another great season for Bossy, who scored 60 goals and 118 points to lead the team.
Another dominant playoff run saw the Islanders not face elimination once again. They went 15-5 and won each of the four games in the Cup Final by multiple goals. Billy Smith won the Conn Smythe because of his .953 save percentage in the Cup Final. Wayne Gretzky scored 71 goals in the regular season and zero in the Cup Final.
#4: 1979-80
The final championship team on the list is the first title team in franchise history. The Islanders finished fifth in the league in the regular season, a significant fall-off from the year before. Bryan Trottier led the team with 62 assists and 104 points while Bossy led with 51 goals.
In the playoffs, the Islanders did not face elimination on their way to the title. The game-six overtime winner by Bobby Nystrom clinched the Cup and kick-started the dynasty. Trottier was the Conn Smythe winner after leading the team with 12 goals, 17 assists, and 29 points.
#5: 1978-79
The last season before the championships began was one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. Their 116 points and 51 wins are the second-most in franchise history and the Islanders entered the playoffs as a favorite. Trottier, Bossy, and Potvin all recorded over 100 points. Trottier led the entire league in assists and points and won the Hart Trophy for MVP.
The Islanders swept the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round and faced the New York Rangers in the semi-final. The Rangers' six-game victory began the 50-year rivalry we know now. It was the last playoff series the team would lose for almost five years.
#6: 2020-21
The first non-dynasty team on the list closed out the Nassau Coliseum with a bang. Anthony Beauvillier scored an overtime goal in game six of the semi-final to force game seven against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While game seven was a brutal loss, the Beauvillier goal will always be a highlight in Islanders' history.
The 56-game regular season due to COVID-19 did not stop the dominance of Barry Trotz's Islanders. They were second in the league in goals allowed and got fantastic seasons from Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin in net. Mathew Barzal led the team with 47 points and Brock Nelson led the team with 18 goals.
#7: 1983-84
The true end of the dynasty came in game five of the 1984 Cup Final. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Islanders, breaking the streak of 19 consecutive series victories. They finished in first place in the Prince of Wales conference led by Bossy's 51 goals and 118 points in just 67 games.
They rolled through the playoffs, never facing elimination, and faced the Oilers in a rematch of the prior year's Final. The buck was passed as Edmonton rolled through New York. The franchise has not been back to the Cup Final since.
#8: 1977-78
Before the Islanders were four-time champions, they were defined by fantastic regular seasons and failures in the playoffs. They won the Clarence Campbell conference with 113 points. Calder Trophy winner Mike Bossy scored 53 goals, his first of nine consecutive 50-goal campaigns.
The playoffs were over as quickly as they started. The Islanders lost in a decisive game seven to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the quarterfinals. While the seeds of a dynasty were being planted, it was not a successful campaign for the Islanders.
#9: 1976-77
In a similar vein, the 1976-77 Islanders made a deeper playoff run but were stopped by the Montreal Canadiens. The scoring had not gone to the stratospheric levels that would come with Bossy and Trottier. Potvin led the team with 80 regular-season points and the team did not make a name for themselves until the playoffs.
They started 6-0 after beating the Black Hawks and Sabres to advance to the semi-final. They ran into the Canadiens, who went on to win their second consecutive championship. This was only the fifth season in franchise history and their third consecutive trip to the semi-final.
#10: 2018-19
The final team on the list is the first year of the Lou Lamoriello era. The Islanders were projected to be one of the worst teams in the league. Captain John Tavares left in free agency for the Toronto Maple Leafs and everyone thought that would torpedo the Islanders. They finished second in the Metropolitan Division and hosted a playoff series.
The Islanders swept the Pittsburgh Penguins to grab just their second playoff series victory since 1993. Even though they were swept out of the second round, this team laid the foundation for the back-to-back semi-final appearances. Barzal led the team with 44 assists and 62 points while Anders Lee had 28 goals.
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