List of New York Islanders players
The New York Islanders are a professional hockey team from Elmont, New York. They play in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, Metropolitan Division. The team started in 1972 and has used several home arenas: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (1972–2015, 2018–2021), Barclays Center (2015–2020), and UBS Arena (2021–present).
More than 500 players have appeared in at least one game for the Islanders, and nearly 20 have had multiple stints.
They won the Stanley Cup four years in a row, from 1980 to 1983. A total of 32 players played for the team during those four wins. Sixteen players were part of all four Cup wins: Mike Bossy, Bob Bourne, Clark Gillies, Butch Goring, Anders Kallur, Gord Lane, Dave Langevin, Wayne Merrick, Ken Morrow, Bob Nystrom, Stefan Persson, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Duane Sutter, John Tonelli, and Bryan Trottier. Three more players won three Cups with the Islanders: Billy Carroll, Mike McEwen, and Roland Melanson.
The Islanders have retired seven numbers: 5 (Denis Potvin), 9 (Clark Gillies), 19 (Bryan Trottier), 22 (Mike Bossy), 23 (Bob Nystrom), 31 (Billy Smith), and 91 (Butch Goring).
Captains: 15 players have served as captain. Denis Potvin held the longest captaincy (1979–1987). Bryan McCabe had the shortest (56 regular-season games). The team did not have a captain in the 1996–97 and 2000–01 seasons. The current captain is Anders Lee, named October 4, 2018, after John Tavares left for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Goaltenders and records: In the inaugural season, Billy Smith, Gerry Desjardins, and Gerry Gray played. Since then, 51 more have appeared in at least one game. Billy Smith has the most regular-season games (674) and playoff games (132) for the Islanders, and the most wins (304). Chico Resch has the most shutouts (25). Twenty-one Islanders have played in playoff games, and three of them were on the Cup-winning roster.
Across 50 NHL seasons from 1972 to 2023, 532 skaters have played for the Islanders. Bryan Trottier has the most games (1,123) and also holds the records for most assists (853) and most points (1,353). Twenty-four players have played only one regular-season game.
Mike Bossy has the most goals for the Islanders (573). Mick Vukota has the most penalty minutes (1,879). Bossy is one of 32 players who have been with the team during at least one Cup win.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:07 (CET).