After their final game (a 2-1 loss to Carolina, of course) and all of the exit meetings, there's still a lot to process about the 2025-26 Islanders. Matthew Schaefer's incredible season remains above reproach but everyone and everything else feels like its under the microscope. From players once thought untouchable to questions of motivation to the GM whose moves didn't work out, there are good reasons to wonder what next season will look like. Missing the playoffs in three out of five seasons with the same core means that major changes are needed. Mathieu Darche's final presser of the season makes it seem as if he knows where the problems were, but he also leaves himself open for more criticism. It's gonna be a long summer of questions with few answers.

In the second half, we look at Semyon Varlamov's amazing comeback from double knee surgeries, talk about Mat Barzal taking heat for how the season has gone and discuss an article about a strange subplot of the Islanders and UBS Arena that tells us a lot about how the owners see the team they control. All while some live Tarps Off action is happen as we speak.

We solve nothing but at least we can talk it all out.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends!

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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Trevor Gillies had spent a decade in the minors fighting across North America before he finally got regular NHL playing time for a young Islanders team that needed a lot of protection. While his toughness and fearlessness instantly made him a fan favorite, those same qualities - plus one very scary image in one of the craziest melees in NHL history - made him a villain to outsiders. Getting two long suspensions in short order for two questionable actions made his time on Long Island brief. But he left a lasting impression upon those who both watched and played with him that's only grown over time.

Rocco tells us how Gillies became one of his favorite Islanders fighters of all time, how he appreciated his list of bouts against combatants of various sizes and how Fight Night 2011 against the Penguins and its many storylines created a bond with that era that won't be broken anytime soon. In addition to the degree of "heavy metal" Gillies brought to the Islanders, we also marvel at his insane ECHL stats, some of his former teammates and, of course, his glorious mustache.

Huge thanks again to Rocco for coming on and sharing his stories and his pizza tips. You should already be listening to him and previous Weird Islanders guests Jack and Ethan on the Isles House podcast. Or stop by Cafe Dolce Vita in either Jericho and Deer Park, grab a slice and say hello.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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We've seen the Islanders lose in many different ways over the years. But we've never seen them choke away a season like this. They played almost every game since the Olympic Break as if they were playing out the string, whittling away a playoff berth that they might not have totally deserved. And while a few players get a Hall Pass, namely Matthew Schaefer and Cal Ritchie, many of the guys who have been here a while conducted themselves in a despicable, cowardly fashion. Which calls into question what the franchise's real intentions are and where their true priorities lie. Do they want to get people to watch them and spend money on them, or do they actually want to win games first and foremost? Do they want to be just good, or truly great?

In the second half, we look ahead to their final, meaningless game against Carolina and the few milestones that we'd like to see get hit. We also talk briefly about the week's one victory over a DOA Leafs team in a game we can't even enjoy anymore because, like everything else, it amounted to nothing. Very few of their games over the last five seasons have been purely enjoyable because of the team's attitude. There have been players and moments to remember but overall, this era can be personified by a noticeable and unsatisfying lack of accomplishment.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends!

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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We had to wait a week to do this, but the mainstays of Master Leaf Theatre do not disappoint. There is poison in the tea, seeing ghosts, paralyzation and dysfunction, careening off cliffs, questionable messages, conflicts of interest and $90 selfies. It's a varied group of writers that all have one thing in common - calling someone an asshole in as many words as they can possibly muster. Whether it was Treliving, CEO Keith Pelley or some other wildly rich guy, the people paid to write about the Leafs are mad as hell and they're not taking it anymore (unless they pick up a few pieces this offseason and shoot for the playoffs next year).

Yes, the Islanders are in a precarious spot themselves. But it's always fun to sit back and laugh at another team when you can. Like when they're having a bad season and you're about to play them.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Works Cited:

• Fox: Why Keith Pelley's next Maple Leafs hire must be a home run by Luke Fox, Sportsnet.

• 'We just didn't deliver': Brad Treliving's firing shocks Maple Leafs by Luke Fox, Sportsnet.

• Fired Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving took the team backwards by Jonas Siegel, The Athletic.

• MLSE has made a massive mess of the Maple Leafs after three dysfunctional years by James Mirtle, The Athletic.

• As Maple Leafs fire Brad Treliving, spotlight shifts to CEO Keith Pelley by Chris Johnston, The Athletic.

• Seven Maple Leafs takeaways from MLSE president Keith Pelley’s media availability by Joshua Kloke, The Athletic.

• How the Maple Leafs changed under Keith Pelley: From $1,000 locker-room dinners to $96 selfies by Jonas Siegel, The Athletic.

• Frank Seravalli ‪via Twitter and his original reporting on Neil Glasberg.

Visit our friends!

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

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Not in a million years did we expect the Islanders to lose all four games in the important week in front of them. But that's exactly what they did - some in ways that even we hadn't seen before. The string of defeats at the worst time, plus a series of defensive mistakes all season long, were enough for them to make a change behind the bench. The move from "player's coach" to hard ass coach is a time-honored NHL tradition, and DeBoer will need to find something the Islanders haven't had in several seasons if he wants to get them into the post season. Even if it's too late for this team, he will set the foundation for what to expect next season (and beyond).

In the second half, we digest the strange Patrick Roy Experience, from a guy who was once out of the Islanders' stratosphere to a frustrating figure who couldn't or wouldn't fix his team's faults. But Roy isn't the only one to blame for this situation. There's the owners who have made the franchise vulnerable to critics, the general manager who has lost both trades and fan goodwill in his first year in the job, the scouts who dropped the ball when needed and the players who have gotten away with way too much for way too long. Everyone owns a piece of this disappointing and confusing campaign.

Finally, we look at the next three games, which will determine both how this season will be remembered and how DeBoer's tenure will begin. No pressure, coach.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.Visit our friends!

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drafted 16th overall by the Sharks and traded to Tampa Bay in the deal for Dan Boyle, Ty Wishart got a quick education in the business of hockey. After a few years in a minors, he was traded again, this time to the Islanders for goalie Dwayne Roloson. Wishart joined what looked to be an up-and-coming squad, and what they lacked in talent, they made up for in youthful energy. He scored his first NHL goal in a wild road game, and was scratched while his new teammates got into a legendary melee with a division rival before going back to the minors. But that was just the beginning of Ty Wishart's incredible hockey career.

Ty tells us some great stories, from throwing up in exhaustion at the NHL Combine to sharing a locker room with guys like Zenon Konopka and Trevor Gillies to playing in Romania and elsewhere. A charity tournament first took him to Australia, where he now lives and plays for the Melbourne Mustangs of the Australian Ice Hockey League. He also served as the team's Director of Hockey Operations during their 2023 championship season. At 37, he still plays for love of the game and still carries memories and mementos from his time as an Islander. And he tells us all of this from a sunny, beautiful beach down under that made Mike and Dan very jealous.

We can't thank Ty enough for coming on and giving us so much. It took a while and required a lot of email back-and-forth, but it was worth it. To keep up with the Mustangs and the rest of the AIHL, you can check out their website or subscribe to AIHL TV. The 2026 season starts on April 17th.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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The pendulum swung every way possible last week for the Islanders. An inexcusable loss to the lowly Blackhawks made the season look over. A gritty win over Dallas wasn't perfect, but it was a relief. And a Saturday matinee that started in the pit of despair rose to euphoric heights, as the out-of-town scoreboard broke their way after a huge win over the Panthers. The week was nerve-wracking and encouraging at the same time, and it felt good to be an Islander, which can happen from time to time.

They're going to need some more of that energy this week as, once again, the season hangs in the balance. Two sets of back-to-backs, all featuring Eastern Conference foes that are either chasing them or could stand in their way later. Monday's game against the Penguins is the most massive, but the Sabres remain a threat, the Flyers have inserted themselves in the conversation again and the Hurricanes could be a playoff opponent for the millionth time in a row. There is no room for letdowns, mistakes or periods playing like assholes.

After all that, we find the time to sneak in a quick Ranger Piece Theater that examines the wearing off of some once-powerful nostalgia and how Rangers fans see their almost-great seasons and cult favorite players. It's a good way to kick one final mound of dirt on their most recent miserable season.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• The fine folks at FOCO are having a Buy Two Get One Free sale on T-Shirts all through March. Go to FOCO.com or use this link to browse the store, then use the code ANXIETY2FOR1 to take advantage. The offer ends March 31st, so don’t wait.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything started great, with a businesslike win over the moribund Maple Leafs. Then, a trip to Ottawa meant a punch in the gut, and a Saturday night in Montreal meant a butt-whipping. With the red hot Blue Jackets waiting for them on Long Island, we were ready to be mad at the Islanders for sinking their season in a matter of days. But an incredible defensive performance (finally!) and a gritty 1-0 win let them live another day above the playoff line. It felt like either a wake up call, a playoff game or a foxhole. However it happened, we're glad it did although the feelings are complex.

This week, they get to do it again. With games against Chicago, Dallas and Florida, the Islanders need to win to keep pace, or perhaps, advance. They might need to keep their defense version of McDavid-Draisaitl going if injuries and lineup changes mount. We also discuss two recent ELC signings and the long-awaited official word of the team moving its AHL affiliate to Hamilton, Ontario.

Finally, it's an extended Master Leaf Theatre, covering another busy week for an NHL team. We've got bouquets of flowers, Forbidden Zones, barrel-chested whipping boys, delusions of competence and angry screeds that would make the crankiest newspaper columnist jealous. It's just another week for the Leafs. Now if they can just some smart people and a few top line players, maybe they'll have a chance next season...

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• The fine folks at FOCO are having a Buy Two Get One Free sale on T-Shirts all through March. Go to FOCO.com or use this link to browse the store, then use the code ANXIETY2FOR1 to take advantage. The offer ends March 31st, so don’t wait.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The late 1990's were a terrible time for the Islanders. The loses were many and prospects had little support in advancing to the NHL. After a few dozen unimpressive games in North America, young Vladimir Orszagh took a sabbatical to Europe for a season, then returned to the NHL with the fourth-year Predators. There, he became a consistent scorer and joined with fellow Euros Denis Arkhipov and Martin Erat to form "The Vowel Line," the first named unit in Nashville's ice history. The trio helped the Predators make the playoffs for the first time and showed that with a good, hardworking team, hockey in Music City could work.

For Alex, a Predators fan since high school when they played their very first game, Orszagh is among the most important players in the team's early history. He tells us about skipping out of work to see a 1-0 win with Orszagh scoring the lone goal, how he helped the team and fanbase grow in a new market, and about his legacy in Nashville to this day. We also talk about Orszagh's international career, which includes being on one of the sickest rosters ever conceived and serving as the head coach of a Slovakian team that made some noise at the recent Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy.

We can't thanks Alex enough for coming on again, telling us these great stories and saying such nice things about the show. You should be reading him for all things Predators in The Tennessean and elsewhere. We also have a Weird Islanders Extra! bonus episode with him as well, where we share some weird stories about our teams' respective owners.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• The fine folks at FOCO are having a Buy Two Get One Free sale on T-Shirts all through March. Go to FOCO.com or use this link to browse the store, then use the code ANXIETY2FOR1 to take advantage. The offer ends March 31st, so don’t wait.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A contest in St. Louis with a lot of weird connections ended being the most Rangers-like win we've seen in some time, using two late powerplay goals to complete a shocking overtime comeback victory. A return home meant a deflating loss to the LA Kings that saw no comeback happen, then a victory over Calgary that almost got a way from them. Overall, the games showed what the Islanders still lack: a definitive executable structure on the ice and a set line-up that maximizes everyone's strengths. There's a difference between stopgaps and solutions, and right now the Islanders seem to have more of the former than the latter.

With games against the very beaten down Maple Leafs, the surging Senators and the stumbling Canadiens, the Islanders have a chance to pick up points. And they better, because next Sunday's game at UBS Arena against Columbus could mean the season. Once again, they are the mercy of their schedule and their opponents' schedules, so the time for experimentation is over. They need to treat these games like they're the playoffs. If they don't, they might miss them altogether.

We also get into Mathieu Darche's longterm plan for the club, what the hell has happened to the Flyers, the struggles of the Carson Soucy-Scott Mayfield pairing and the hope that next week is finally Schenn Week.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• The fine folks at FOCO are having a Buy Two Get One Free sale on T-Shirts all through March. Go to FOCO.com or use this link to browse the store, then use the code ANXIETY2FOR1 to take advantage. The offer ends March 31st, so don’t wait.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a wild weekend for the Islanders, who dropped two massive duds in Anaheim and LA, then made a shocking last minute trade for the St. Louis Blues captain on Friday's deadline that no one saw coming. After speaking with Schenn in person at the hotel both the Blues and Islanders were staying at, he agreed to waive his no-movement clause to join the veteran-heavy squad as they march towards the playoffs. The trade plus the re-signing of J-G Pageau was puzzling (and pricey) but Mathieu Darche's post-deadline presser helped bring the plan into more focus. The deal also ended the Islanders' Jonathan Drouin saga, which is probably a relief to him, the team and, in an odd way, Jenny's dad.

A day later, the Islanders got two massive points in San Jose thanks to Bo Horvat's latest OT goal. They're still in the driver's seat in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but things are still very much up-in-the-air for the few teams that haven't sunk to the bottom of the standings. The week ahead has more opportunities to pick up valuable points and finally come back home for much of the rest of the season.

Fresh off a plane from Singapore, where she spent an enjoyable but sweltering week, Jenny gives us her thoughts on the games, the trades, the number exchanges, some other deals around the league and on following the NHL from the other side of the world (or on a plane). Thanks again to Jenny for stepping in after a long day. She's earned a vacation from her vacation.

We also take a call from a "Mike from Long Island," who has many feelings on the newest Islander and how the deal went down.

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• The fine folks at FOCO are having a Buy Two Get One Free sale on T-Shirts all through March. Go to FOCO.com or use this link to browse the store, then use the code ANXIETY2FOR1 to take advantage. The offer ends March 31st, so don’t wait.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On paper, Chad Johnson was the perfect addition to what looked to be a quality Islanders team in 2014. He was coming off a great season backing up Tuukka Rask in Boston and should have done the same for Isles starter Jaroslav Halak. But when called upon, Johnson was consistently inconsistent, and made giving Halak a break here and there a dangerous proposition.

Meanwhile in Buffalo, goalie Michal Neuvirth wasn't having any fun playing on a team going nowhere but the draft lottery (again). His numbers were solid despite the roster around him, so a swap was made that everyone hoped would free one team of its biggest problem and solve another problem for a goalie who had shown skill in the recent past. On paper, the trade made a lot of sense.

Sadly, they don't play the games on paper, and both Johnson and Neuvirth became bewildering footnotes in Islanders history. Joe helps us understand both goalies as people and the circumstances surrounding the trade from the Sabre's side of things. We also ponder what makes a goalie good, how two proverbial "tidy pieces of business" could go so horribly awry and how to forgive a guy who was barely a villain to begin with.

Thanks again to Joe for coming on. We've wanted to get him for a long time and not only was he as great as expected but this ended up being the perfect time and the perfect subjects. Follow him everywhere you can on all the socials and at his website, NotedHockey.com.

We have a Weird Islanders Extra Patreon exclusive bonus episode with Joe as well so check that out, too.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were worried that going into two places they never win in - Montreal and Columbus - and coming back to face the rabid Panthers at home could be a significant hill for the Islanders to climb immediately after the Olympic break. But behind the Disney Dads, Anders Lee and J-G Pageau, and the literally unbelievable Matthew Schaefer, they won all three in uncharacteristically exciting fashion and have us thinking that something special is going on here. Going down 0-2 in each of them isn't ideal, but coming back to get points and create separation between them and the teams chasing them means everything right now as teams enter their final 24 game stretch.

The wins also mean that the games this week in California against the Ducks, Kings and Sharks have just a little less weight on them. If they can keep the streak going, they have a real chance to lock things up long before the season's final week, which is huge departure from the last few seasons.

Later, we look ahead to Friday's NHL Trade Deadline and how the Islanders have positioned themselves to do something big. Adding around the edges might be okay in most seasons, but if they can find some bigger fish to relieve the pressure on their current leaders, they might really scare the rest of the field.

Finally, we pay our respects to two great NHL voices that we have lost recently.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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The Islanders' final 24 games will be a brutal sprint, with lots of in-conference opponents, a road trip out west and seven back-to-backs. They get a taste of all of those in the first week and a half starting with games in Montreal and Columbus before returning home to face a wounded Florida squad. It's vital they get off on the right foot because there's no time to feel things out. They need points to keep teams like the Blue Jackets and Panthers off their heels and solidify their playoff berth. And if they - and especially Ilya Sorokin - are not ready to go, this resumption of the season may be short-lived.

We devote the second half to something we didn't anticipate - a Master Leaf Theatre focused on Team USA's gold medal win over Team Canada in the men's hockey tournament. There were enough sour grapes flowing and weird things said that we needed to commemorate them in our signature style. From furious forwards to whiny radio hosts to taking shots at the Maple Leafs media machine, this Olympic edition of Master Leaf Theatre is as varied as The Games themselves.

Along the way we salute both the US men's and women's teams, Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat, Kimber Auerbach and the guy who wore the Simon Holmstrom shirt to the Season Ticket Holder event at UBS Arena on Sunday.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify.

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Like a lot of defensive defensemen, Rob Davison was not a player most people would remember. His job was preventing goals, not scoring them, for a very good San Jose Sharks team in the early 2000's. When he was dealt to the Islanders at the tail end of the 2007-08 season, it barely registered with the fanbase and was more about filling a giant injury hole than anything else. He arrived late to his first game and would eventually leave the team after that playoff-free season.

BUT! In those 19-games, Rob Davison - of all people - scored a goal so crazy, so unbelievable, so memorable that we're still talking about it 25 years later. In an otherwise pointless game at Nassau Coliseum between two teams going nowhere, Davison launched the puck 190-feet down the ice and ended up with one of the most ludicrous shorthanded goals in NHL history, forever tying him to former Sharks teammate Vesa Toskala in a moment of infamy no one who watched it will ever forget.

Instead of finding a Sharks fan to talk about Davison, we asked John - a fan of the hated Maple Leafs - to talk about that game, that goal and Toskala's legacy in Toronto. Ironically, we all find a degree of sympathy for the goalie who faced an impossible play and whiffed on it the way just about anyone would have. We talk about his reaction to his friend Davison scoring a goal like that on him, and about how trading Davison helped the Sharks draft an upgrade, who has a goofy connection to the Islanders decades later. We also enjoy a rarely remembered fact about that famous game (that the Islanders still lost).

We can't thank John enough for coming on. He's a very busy man between his many podcasts, his new book - Curling Rocks! - being out (and recording its audio version) and his work for CBC covering curling at the Olympics. Check out his shows Broomgate, A Curling Scandal, What is...? A Jeopardy! Podcast (with Emily Heller), The POD Kast (with Bryan Quinby) and Blocked Party (with Stefen Heck).

A Weird Islanders Extra! bonus episode with us and John discussing the Islanders/Leafs/Tavares thing was released back in January.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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In late January, 2026 - while the Leafs were in a potentially season-ending spiral - an article was posted at The Athletic about a former staffer who had some things to say about how the team was run. The staffer? A doctor of sports science who left the team in 2019. How is the team run? Like "a traditional hockey team" a.k.a., one without a doctor of sports science on staff. The doctor believes that not having a person in charge of sports science and performance has led to the Leafs' spate of injuries this season. And clearly, Master Leaf Theatre regular Jonas Siegel, believes him.

Along with Islanders and Master Leaf Theatre fan Don Becker, we dramatize the original article, giving it the weight that its author intended it to have but never got from inside Leafs World. We also cover the angry reaction by Toronto GM Brad Treliving, who had a few choice words for both Siegel and the disgruntled doctor. Finally, we tie things up with Siegel's podcast partner James Mirtle, who gives us an appropriately grim outlook on the Leafs' future that requires no doctorates to figure out.

We can't thank Don enough for coming on and giving us some great reads of this bizarre Master Leaf Theatre side story. You may have missed the "scandal" when it was originally published, but it was perfect for us and our signature performance outlet.

Works Referenced:

• Why did the Maple Leafs eliminate a job designed to keep players healthy? by Jonas Siegel for The Athletic

• Brad Treliving on TSN OVERDRIVE (starts around 22:00)

• Brad Treliving defends Maple Leafs’ approach to sports science by Jonas Siegel for The Athletic

• Why the Maple Leafs need to start thinking about selling by James Mirtle, The Athletic

  Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

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We heard some feedback that the last episode came off a little too nervous or negative, so we challenged ourselves to accentuate the plusses of every position player. For some, it was easy. Players like Ilya Sorokin, Matthew Schaefer, Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal have been getting rightfully praised all season, while Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock and J-G Pageau seem to have regained their former forms. Legacy players like Casey Cizikas and Anders Lee have shown they still have a place on this team, while newer guys like Emil Heineman and Cal Ritchie have only scratched the surface of what they're capable of.

For others, the task was slightly more difficult. In a few cases, we wonder if the team is just ready to move on despite what skills the player may possess because they're just not a fit. Regardless, we're able to isolate their strengths or things we think they can bring in the future, even if it's not evident this season.

This was a fun exercise to do during the Olympic break. Next week, we'll look ahead to their first few games back.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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The Islanders did what we asked last week and grabbed at least four points. Too bad they looked mostly lousy while doing it. So while their comeback against the Penguins and a theft from the Devils were helpful and kept them in third in the Metro, they also didn't offer a lot in the way of encouragement for the stretch run. The bottom half of the lineup provides almost no offensive support and the top half and the defense is constantly in flux thanks to a coach who seems out of ideas.

Still, we don't want to lose sight of the fun times despite the dangers ahead. Few expected the Islanders to be in a playoff berth this late in the season (if at all) so we want to take the good with the bad. Next week, we'll dive a little deeper into individual player performances, especially two the Islanders might regret not doing more with if they don't come out of the break hot.

Meanwhile, we always have time to laugh at the Rangers, whose GM and captain have very little to say about where the franchise is and why their fans should still care. Fortunately, it feels like they'll both be around for a while so they'll have plenty of time to come up with their next blast of hot air.

This podcast is presented by Benihana, the new official hibachi partner of the New York Islanders.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the Penguins have had some all time great players in their history, the periods between those players were pretty dire. Bankruptcies, empty buildings and lots of losses were not uncommon for one of the NHL's now-marquee teams. Into one of these eras stepped Dick Tarnstrom, a very late round pick of the Islanders who found himself squeezed out of Long Island during one of their rare fertile periods of the early 2000's and onto a Penguins team desperate for anyone who could put the puck into a net. Tarnstrom was competent on a bereft squad, which means he got comparisons to Hall of Famers, and Hart and Norris Trophy votes from the win-starved writers covering it. The Penguins' "X-Generation" might have featured a lot of weird players, but thanks to cheap tickets and EXTREME marketing, it actually succeeded in creating a new wave of fans. To those kids, guys like Dick Tarnstrom felt like superstars of tomorrow.

Dan takes us through the Full Tarnstrom Experience and tells us what it was like watching the Penguins between the Lemieux/Jagr and Crosby/Malkin eras. We learn about the "Ric and Dick Show," attending Ryan Malone's hockey camp as a kid, the Woodstock 99 flavor of the "X-Generation" ads and how Tarnstrom was able to capture hearts in the Steel City. We also wonder how we forgot he played for the Oilers during their 2006 Cup final run and why he was put on waivers in the first place (it probably had something to do with being Swedish and having Mike Milbury as a general manager). It's the deepest dive you'll find on the man who is surely the last "Dick" in NHL history.

Thanks again to Dan for coming on. His podcast, "Thrill of Defeat" is outstanding and if you're a fan of Weird Islanders, it will be right up your alley. He's on a bit of a hiatus now, but there are plenty of episodes to get started on.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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For five days last week, Islanders fans were feeling good. Three wins, two over the Rangers in a humiliating season sweep complete with chirps from a goofball kid who's already a star, and trades for Carson Soucy and Ondrej Palat that, while open to criticism, have yielded good early results. Then Saturday happened, when the Islanders played a sloppy, maddening game against the Nashville Predators at home and took a giant step back after three steps forward. It was the last thing we wanted to see with a huge slate coming up and an Olympic break looming that will put us all in stasis for three weeks.

We look back at all of last week's games and ahead to games against the Capitals, Penguins and Devils to close out the pre-Olympic schedule. One against a team directly behind you, one against a team directly in front of you and one that should be easy on paper but might end up being necessary. It's a massive week that will tell us a lot about how the trade deadline might shape up. Of course, we said that before this week, too...

Finally we look at an article that ranked NHL arena experiences and at UBS Arena's fair placement. It's a great venue with one huge issue keeping it from the league's upper echelon.

Be sure to count the times Dan says he wants to talk about something and then just never does. This might be an all time record.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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The Bridgeport Islanders leaving their home of over 25 years was first teased months ago, but a recent report in The Athletic put out a lot of details we didn't know already. While the team has yet to make anything official, we give our initial reactions and concerns about the move, while also feeling sympathy for the fans who supported the Sound Tigers/Baby Islanders organization during an usually long time for one minor league team to stay in one place.

Then it's on to another epic-length Master Leaf Theatre, as Mitch Marner makes his return to his hometown and his former favorite team's home rink. As expected, the takes afterward were equal parts dramatic and ridiculous, with some writing about the fan reaction in delusional or Shakespearian terms, and others calling out the evening's failings, including those of the Leafs themselves in a gutless 6-3 loss. We add some new voices to the Master Leaf Theatre canon, which is always a treat, and enjoy some unexpected twists from classic artists of the genre. We had so much to get to that we forgot to mention the Leafs selling an autographed Marner Knights jersey on the concourse during his return game. That tells you all you need to know about how this "hostile" this environment was.

We've done a lot of this over the last two weeks, so we're going to take a little hiatus unless something crazy happens.

Thanks for listening to this two-part episode. The severe weather impacted us in a few way and this was the best solution.

Master Leaf Theatre works:

• Where did it go wrong for Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs? by Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet

• Mitch Marner hears boos (so many boos) in his return to Maple Leafs ice. As it should be by Rosie DiManno, Toronto Star

• Behind the boos: Inside Mitch Marner’s return to Toronto as a Golden Knight by Joshua Kloke, The Athletic

• Maple Leafs faithful rain jeers down upon Marner in tense reunion by Sonny Sachdeva

• ‘Going to be loud’: Why Toronto will be booing Mitch Marner by Luke Fox, Sportsnet

• Maple Leafs fail to match intensity of Mitch Marner’s return by Luke Fox, Sportsnet

• SIMMONS SAYS: Maple Leafs Auston Matthews behaving rather uncaptain-like by Steve Simmons

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In three games this week, the Islanders left us with layers of anger and frustration. They finished their trip with two bad games, one that somehow yielded a win and another that landed like a lead balloon. They then came back to UBS Arena to face the surging Sabres and once again no-showed a matinee game full of kids, an all-too familiar scenario for them over the last decade-plus. The Isles are still in a playoff berth as of now, but only because the teams below them are scuffling. Management has made no indications that any changes are coming, and the same assortment of deck chairs keeps getting rearranged, leading to no surprises and predictable outcomes.

A game against a Flyers team hunting for the same playoff berth on Monday is huge for both clubs. The Islanders follow that with back-to-back(!) games against a Rangers team that would love to play spoiler, even as they wave their second white flag in seven years. Then it's a game against Nashville, that old boogie man. With just two weeks before the Olympic Break, these winnable games will all have an effect on how the rest of the Islanders' season should be treated.

This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2, in which we cover news of the Islanders' AHL affiliate moving from Bridgeport to Hamilton, ONT and dive deep into a bad weekend for the Maple Leafs in a massive Master Leaf Theatre for the ages, will be out later Monday morning.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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Many sports fans have their favorite "pet prospects" that they root for to make it in the pros. Not only does AJ count Robin Salo as his favorite draft pick, he was the reason AJ became an Islanders fan in the first place. Highly touted by respected prospect watchers, Salo seemed to have all the tools to become an NHL regular. When he finally got to Long Island, all of that promise went unfilled as he got little playing time over the course of a few years. He would have flashes of talent then disappear for months due to healthy scratches and demotions to lovely Bridgeport. Once Salo finally left the Islanders to sign overseas, it felt like we barely knew him.

AJ tells us about his connection to and affinity for Salo, and we break down the mysteries surrounding him and how it all got so strange. Of course, we also examine the pairing of Robin Salo and Sebastian Aho, two guys who played the same position the same way on the same team and often felt like the same person. Along the way, AJ makes a bold prediction about Salo's future that we'll be interested to see come true.

Thanks again to AJ for coming on, and be sure to listen to he, Ryan and Jake at Skates at the Stakes.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Western Canada portion of their road trip has seen one exhilarating and miraculous win and two disappointing losses full of missed opportunities. By playing in fits and starts, the Islanders kept themselves alive but haven't yet fully crossed over the line and made themselves safe in the playoff hunt. After a strange near blowout/comeback/deflating loss in Winnipeg, they took a 1-0 win in Edmonton thanks to a tremendous Ilya Sorokin performance and a timely powerplay goal (!). They followed that up with a sloppy loss in Calgary where they looked almost guilty for stealing one elsewhere in the province. It all leads to the final two games of the trip - in Vancouver tonight and Wednesday in Seattle (on TNT) - to determine how the pre-Olympics schedule shakes out. Two wins and they're in good shape. Two losses and it's time to worry. Throw in a home return game against the Sabres and it's a lot of weight to put on three winnable-on-paper contests. So players who've been quiet on the scoresheet will need to step up, even if they get Bo Horvat back.

In the second half, we welcome back friend and Lighthouse Hockey founder Dominik Jansky to read an amazing edition of Master Leaf Theatre, in which "The Charles Dickens of Master Leaf Theatre" goes on a stalking trip to find out what life is like in Las Vegas for Mitch Marner before his first game against the Leafs. What we find is a normal guy working in a new city, which, of course, is impossible to comprehend when you only think about living in Toronto. We also get some audio clips of a pissy pre-game Auston Matthews and a mysterious "Mikey from Long Island" who called into Sportsnet's Real Kyper & Bourne Show.

But, wait! There's more! (after a second commercial break). We also have Dom read pieces for a brand new Ranger Piece Theater about that team's latest white flag letter that no one is buying as the start of a new retool. Owner James Dolan is repeating himself and GM Chris Drury inches closer to Mike Milbury territory. And only one man has the guts to call this latest gambit what it truly is: APPLESAUCE.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Islanders grabbed five of a possible six points in three very different games this week. One was a blowout that starred Duclair and also required 44 saves from Sorokin, giving him a new franchise record. The other was a tight shootout loss in Nashville that could have gone either way right up to the end. And the last was the rarest of all Islanders games - a win in Minnesota that was both a breakout game for Holmstrom and an even better performance for Sorokin than the shutout was. We asked for breathing room and got a tiny bit of it as some divisional rivals struggled.

In the second half, we look at the heart and dangers of their latest long road trip that takes them to Central and Western Canada. We also debut a new feature for our PBS system, Master Sens Theatre, in which some (alleged) Telenovela-esque drama comes to Canada's capital and the team's ham-handed way of squashing it just makes it worse. Finally, we get to laugh at both the Devils, and their continued sulking about a trade that didn't involve them, and the Rangers, who had a bad week and an even worse weekend that was full of the kind of "BS" they were supposed to be without this season.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zednik started his career with the bang, as an exciting rookie on the Capitals 1998 Stanley Cup final team. He hit a new level after being traded to Montreal and blossoming into a big scorer. But after a disappointing return to Washington, he found himself again shipped off to Long Island. In one of the strangest seasons in Islanders history, Zednik was a true passenger. Ten games, one goal and a disappearance during an electric run to the playoffs, in which he would also play briefly. Later, he had a renaissance with the Panthers and used the Islanders for one final highlight reel goal after coming back from a horrific injury,

Ted talks to us about Zednik's folk hero status in Washington - including a hilarious and era-appropriate promotional event - and what he meant to that fun squad that made a surprise run to the Cup final. We marvel at Zednik's numbers with the Canadiens and Panthers and laugh about his incredibly disappointing short time with the Islanders. He showed up, got some fans excited, did very little, dipped out for a while and came back just in time for a five-game playoff wipeout. It was yet another strange element to the extremely strange 2006-07 season, one we can't get enough of.

Thanks again to Ted for coming on and all his support over the years. Follow his work at Hockey Hot Stove and check out his books, Red Rising: The Washington Capitals Story and Chasing the Dream: Life in the American Hockey League.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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We've gone over the Saturday night game against the Maple Leafs in depth on our special emergency podcast, so now we look back at a lucky shootout win over Chicago and a disastrous New Year's Day home game against Utah. The Islanders didn't play well in either, but the game they tried to lose yielded two points and the other was another bad game at the worst time and left an entire arena and fanbase perplexed and angry. Lost points against beatable teams might end up haunting them later, as the entire Eastern Conference continues to be a dog fight.

In the second half, we look ahead to a non-negotiable home game against a division rival that proceeds another long road trip, this time through some places the Islanders have rarely, if ever, won in. Getting two points against New Jersey is key to getting off on the right foot before heading to Nashville (on Dan's birthday) and St. Paul, MN and hoping to stay above water. We also take a look back at as good a first half as the Islanders have had in many years. But other teams are right behind them, and a four game losing streak would feel like the end of the world. So some of the players that have been on ice will need to step up in the face of injuries and mounting pressure.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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For two periods, it looked like the game and the season might be over. The Islanders were down 2-1, Auston Matthews had scored twice to become the Leafs' all time leading goal scorer, and UBS Arena was quiet as the home team gave fans very little to cheer about. But after a crosscheck from noted scumbag Max Domi, the 18-year-old Schaefer decided he had seen enough. He scored an incredible goal to tie the game, then after two more goals that sent the game to overtime, blew the roof off the place by scoring an insane game-winner off an equally insane pass from Mathew Barzal.

While the feeling afterward was beyond euphoric, there were a lot more emotions before and after. Why does an 18-year-old need to put this team on his back? Why do the Islanders continue to allow other teams to score record-setting goals at their arena? How good will Schaefer be as he matures? How did this play to the Hockey Night audience back in Toronto? And who is Cole McWard? We try to address all of these and more in the moment before sleep and the rest of the weekend kicks in.

We'll be back at our regular time for an episode to release on Monday morning as always. But this game deserved its own podcast and it might not be the last time Schaefer spurs us to do this.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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John tries to better understand where Islanders fans get their hatred from by asking how it all came to this. Clearly, Mike and Dan still have a lot of feelings about it and the many people who made that time period so traumatic for them. They try get out as much as they can while also learning how to better communicate it all. It's hard to tell how swayed John is, but perhaps his own feelings about former Maple Leaf Mitch Marner, as his return with Vegas Golden Knights draws near, will make him sympathize with Islanders fans more.

With the Islanders hosting Toronto this weekend, it seemed better to release this Weird Islanders Extra! bonus episode now rather than wait for John's full episode to run, which will be in February during the Olympics. John is a great guy who's part of a lot of entertaining projects, so follow him at @CullenTheComic on Instagram and listen to his podcasts, Broomgate, A Curling Scandal, What is...? A Jeopardy! Podcast, The POD Kast and Blocked Party. He'll also be covering curling at the Olympics for CBC and his book Curling Rocks! will be out on February 3rd.

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With wins over the Devils and Rangers on either side of the Christmas break, the Islanders gave their fans a great holiday. Whether it was a surprise game-winning goal from Adam Pelech or an incredible performance by David Rittich against a team of scumbags and nobodies, there was a lot to like. Sunday's game in Columbus looked as if it might be another reason to smile but in a one-minute-plus span in the third period, those feelings got wiped away. The Islanders ran out of gas and missed out on two points, but we award Rittich with a brand new weekly prize for his efforts.

The upcoming week features two winnable games against wounded Western Conference opponents and another meeting with the hated Maple Leafs at UBS Arena. This one is going to be more annoying than usual as it's the first meeting of the last two Islanders to be drafted first overall. But while John Tavares does his usual classy thing and gets fawned over by The Weirdest Media Circus in All of Sports, Matthew Schaefer might be coming face-to-face with his past as a Leafs fan. We can only hope that someone (ahem... Matt Martin?) teaches him about the significance of these games for Islanders Fans. We bring forth a brand new Master Leaf Theatre to remind us that things are different up there.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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Parker Wotherspoon is not an exciting player. As a defensive defenseman, his value is in doing his job effectively and without notice. After almost 300 games in the minors, he finally got a chance in NHL and got to play in his hometown, where picked up his only point with the Islanders before was sent back down again. But he emerged the next season - and is currently - giving other teams the kind of defensive stability the Islanders, frankly, could use a little of right now. We recount his short time in blue-and-orange and the few memorable moments he had.

Dmytro Timashov was an exciting player - for a moment, at least, and in a city that makes a big deal out of any tiny thing that seems to have some kind of juice. But his Islanders tenure was even shorter than Wotherspoon's, and whatever we thought he would be, he wasn't. What he lacked in longevity, Timashov made up for in bizarreness, so at least we have that.

We thank Matt again for coming on and picking two great current Weird Islanders. Check out the Weird Islanders Extra! bonus episode right behind this one, to hear more about Matt's work at Pitchfork and our debate on the Islanders goal song.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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Losing three games because one of your best players is hurt is one thing. Looking like you forgot how to play hockey is something entirely different. That was how the Islanders' week went, with seven plus periods of chasing other teams around the ice and generally looking sloppy, slow and tired. They salvaged half of one game and got a point, and the standings didn't totally get away from them, but they'll need better performances from a lot of players down the lineup if they're going to right their course. That starts with three games against division rivals this week and whether they have Bo Horvat back or not.

In the second half, we also have a lengthy discussion about a Newsday article in which the team's head of business operations Kelly Cheeseman talks about their plans for expanding the team's customer base. It's a lot of marketing speak that, while perhaps technically true, seems to be disconnected from the actual fans they're trying to reach. Islanders fans are a unique group, and understanding how the existing fan thinks would be a great first step in getting new fans to sign up.

Finally, we have a good laugh at the New York Rangers MSG broadcast, which didn't show the in-arena tribute videos for Chris Kreider and Jakob Trouba to home audiences. That's some bush league stuff from a world class grudge holder, but let's hear from Rangers fans about how they feel (Example: "Had to get in their fan duel commercials.").

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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When was the last time the Islanders won two shootouts in the same week? With the same guy scoring both game-winners? Feels like never. We talk about the wins (and blown leads) against Vegas and Tampa Bay, and the big win over Anaheim in the middle. We're glad for the return of Marc Gatcomb and happy to be fully rewired into this fun, proud version of the Islanders. It was a fun week to be an fan, and even more fun to be in the building as they inducted Pat LaFontaine into the team's Hall of Fame, and Mike and his family celebrated his dad's birthday.

We also look ahead to a week of winnable games and discuss the Penguins and Oilers swapping goalies and the Minnesota Wild getting Quinn Hughes.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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The "other" piece of the disastrous Kirk Muller trade, Schneider was a born-and-bred New Yorker and the rare player who actually looked forward to coming to Long Island in the mid-1990's. After winning a Stanley Cup with the Canadiens and gaining headlines for calling out NHL commissioner Gary Bettman before the 1995 lockout, Schneider seemed like a big get for the Islanders and was a popular player among fans, many of whom were also members of the Jewish faith. He was their All Star Game representative in 1996, an alternate (and sometimes temporary) captain and productive all-around player. But then, just like that, he was gone in another big trade that sent yet another All Star away (but at least brought back a couple of future ones).

Along with Joe, we discuss Schneider's high standing among fans of this time, some of his standout moments on the ice and the quietly impactful NHL career he had a for a long list of teams and even after retirement. We also run down some other Islanders All Stars who were weird for various reasons.

Thanks again to Joe for coming on, it's always a pleasure talking to him. If you're not already signed up for the IslesFix newsletter for some reason, fix that immediately.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more. Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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Mike and Dan pay tribute to late New York Post hockey columnist Larry Brooks and more of their favorite sportswriters.

Brooks passed away at 75 after a short battle with cancer. He leaves behind a long legacy as one of the most unique and important voices in New York hockey. No matter what team you rooted for, or whether he made you think or drove you crazy, his Sunday Slapshots column was required reading. He was a fierce critic of (and cheerleader for) the Rangers, but was also staunchly pro-players and the NHLPA, and had a deep love and appreciation for the dynastic Islanders who he considered the best team of their generation.

We also discuss other sportswriters who have shaped our love of the sport throughout our lives. First, of course, is Stan Fischler, who is still covering the NHL at 93-years-old and living abroad. Stan, like Larry, was a voice unlike any other, especially at a time when the league was made up of a dozen teams or less. If you only know Stan from his TV work with the Islanders, you've only barely scratched the surface of what he's done over his 70+ year career in hockey and what makes him Hall of Fame-worthy (even if the actual Hall of Fame hasn't recognized him yet). We also celebrate Stan's late wife Shirley, who was a pioneer for female sportswriters and fought many battles to do a job she knew she was good at.

Thank you for your continued support of Islanders Anxiety. We hope you accept this rare hockey-centric episode and enjoy our small tribute to a man who's writing will be dearly missed by us.

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Last week, things were not looking good. The Islanders had squandered much of their homestand on losses and had a run of games against recent Stanley Cup champions on the horizon. But using a more balanced attack - including from a new, actual fourth line - and some dominant goaltending, they beat Tampa Bay twice and Colorado, who had only lost once this season. The games against the Lightning and Avalanche were some of the most fun this season, even if Saturday's 2-0 win at [whatever it's called] Arena in Tampa was also nerve-wracking. Even Adam Pelech, of all people, got in on the scoring fun. The games were so good for our psyche that losing to the Panthers in a sludgy Sunday matinee didn't even bother us.

In the second half, we look at tricky upcoming games against the Golden Knights, Ducks and Lightning - again! - for the final time this season. They can win them if they keep using their new identity. We also discuss the delights of Brock Nelson's return to UBS Arena and the induction of Pat LaFontaine into the Islanders Hall of Fame coming up on Saturday. Finally, we thank you for letting us do this for 350 episodes (so far) and for giving us another great year of growth and laughs. We hope you're having as good a time as are.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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With losses to the Bruins, Flyers (via shootout) and Capitals, the Islanders continue to struggle at UBS Arena, which is making fans annoyed. They also have to now deal with losing Kyle Palmieri for the rest of the season following an ACL injury. Palmieri was a key player and point producer and without him, there is both concern and opportunity for others to step up. So far, no one has and games like Sunday's, where Washington simply bullied the Islanders and prized rookie Matthew Schaefer, could become more commonplace. This season went from no expectations to playoff dreams to gloomy catastrophe, and we're only a quarter of the way through.

In the second half, we look at an upcoming schedule that sees the Islanders playing the last five Stanley Cup champions all in a row. This stretch could sink them for good, but we said that before the 6-1 road trip, too. So you never know. We also check in with broadcast partner MSG Networks to list the many good and few frustrating things about the way the games and the Islanders are presented. Overall, we're lucky to have a top notch broadcast. But there's a disconnect between the games we're watching and what we're being told.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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The 2006-07 Islanders defy belief. From shocking front office upheaval to a roster of mostly mercenaries to two surprise trades to a heroic performance by a relative nobody, that squad had more drama than most teams see in decades. The Last Days of Bedlam explores that season as well as its previous context and the cascade of emotions Islanders fans went through game-after-game, month-after-month and even after the season was over.

Together with Pinholes, we get his takes on some Weird Islanders we've spotlighted from that season before, like Ryan Smyth, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Deron Quint and Wade Dubielewicz. But we also dive into some short-timers that haven't come up yet, like goalie Mike Dunham (who still gives Dan PTSD) and defenseman Sean Hill, who was hit with one of the most bizarre and bizarrely-timed suspensions in NHL history.

Stay tuned to the end for a special bonus excerpt from an upcoming episode of Weird Islanders: The Podcast! about another member of this team that we've been waiting to feature in his own episode since Season 1. And subscribe to our Patreon for mounds of additional bonus material from this episode including two extra conversations with Pinholes about "regular" Islanders that came up in the film, as well as four (4) related Season 1 Weird Islanders: The Podcast! episodes that are being presented for Patrons commercial free for the first time.

We thank Pinholes for not only coming on with us again but for giving all Islanders fans the great gift of The Last Days of Bedlam. We both excitedly recommend watching it before you listen to this podcast, if you haven't seen it already. Or better still, watch it again and tell all your friends to watch it. More people need to experience the insanity and ecstasy of the 2006-07 Islanders season and this documentary displays that in a way no one ever has before.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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The gauntlet that seemed like it could sink their season instead saw the Islanders surge into a playoff berth with a tense win in Dallas and an unexpected blowout in Detroit. While the victory over the Stars took everything they had and came with casualties, the romp over the Red Wings served as a coming out party for a new folk hero. Max Shabanov went from mystery man to possible Weird Islander to a masked, rouge hero growing in confidence. A return game against St. Louis was less than triumphant, but the follow-up against Seattle got them two huge points despite exactly zero (0) goals being scored in regulation. It's all been a bit strange but as long as they keep climbing and winning, we can keep smiling.

The week ahead contains more tough games including one against a team that's already roughed them up. American Thanksgiving is supposed to be the unofficial time when NHL teams show us what they can be. The Islanders have the chance over the next seven days to prove they're for real, especially in front of their own fans.

To close this episode out, we give thanks for things we're grateful for, like the stumbles and struggles of our enemies. The Rangers and Maple Leafs are not having a good time right now, and we turn back the clock for a fun new Master Pens Theater.

As always, we're thankful for you all for listening and supporting us. A new episode of Weird Islanders: The Podcast! releases on Friday, and be sure to check out the Patreon that day for a cornucopia of bonus content for it.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The seven game gauntlet through several Stanley Cup contenders loomed large on the schedule. But after three electric overtime games, the Islanders were making believers out of many. While not perfect by any means, they were playing fun games and picking up points, beating heavy hitters like New Jersey and Vegas, as well as surprising Utah, with timely goals and great goaltending. Even a loss in Denver to a stacked Avalanche team couldn't bring them down. Despite the defeat (and a goal against by an old friend), it was one of their most complete games of the season and showed that they can play with the NHL's elite.

But the job's not done. Two more road games close out the trip before back-to-back matinee games at home. The names might not be as daunting, but the Islanders need to keep up this pace if they want to stay alive in the crowded Eastern Conference. They also might need to make decisions on what they want the bottom of their line-up to look like. Because right now, it's a bit of a mess and some of these guys are real psychos.

Finally, they discuss a surprise article about former Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello, who is apparently still working with the team but away from the hockey department. It feels good to know Lou is still around and offering council and protection, but letting the new kid do his thing.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vašíček only spent one season on Long Island, but he made a lot of fans in that short time, bringing goals and a big smile to a patchwork team about to enter a full rebuild. In Al Arbour's historic return game, it was Vašíček who led the Islanders to a victory in front of a packed house and the legendary coach. In a season that isn't fondly remembered or marked by consistency, Big Joe was one of the team's most reliable players.

Years before that, he made his reputation playing for the Hurricanes at both their bizarre beginnings and in their best seasons. He was part of their Stanley Cup finals team in 2002 and, after a quick jaunt to Nashville, was on their championship team in 2006. As usual, Vašíček contributed positively on the ice, even if it wasn't with a goal or an assist.

Following his time with the Islanders, he signed on with the nascent KHL so that he could play closer to his home in Slovakia. Even there, he helped lead Lokomotiv to the first Gagarin Cup finals and proved he could win anywhere. Tragically, in September of 2011, Vašíček died as the team's plane crashed soon after take-off, killing 44 passengers. The shocking loss of life still reverberates to this day, especially for those of us who were fans of the many players on board, including and especially Josef Vašíček.

Sab tells us about his memories of and connection to Vašíček through the years, including some rare personal stories that might be forgotten. As always, we thank him for coming on and for his invaluable YouTube channel, which is packed to the gills with Islanders history.

To hear more of our conversation with Sab about Lou, Kashawn Aitcheson and other topics, head over to our Patreon and sign up for the Country Club tier to access our latest Weird Islanders Extra! bonus podcast. Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The week started with an eventful, entertaining game against the Bruins that didn't go the Islanders' way, and also included some social media drama. All of that was more palatable than the embarrassing zombie walk they took on Friday against Minnesota. Hosting a team on a back-to-back with travel and needing points before a daunting road trip, the Islanders chose to simply let the Wild do what they wanted for a full 60 minutes, which is the kind of game that keeps fans away from the arena.

That set up a game at Madison Square Garden against a Rangers team still looking for its first home win of the season and hosting a celebrating group of alumni. All in attendance were treated to one of the Islanders' best games of the season, as they shutout the home team 5-0 to continue their scoring misery. Not only was the victory satisfying, but it provided us with some fresh Ranger Piece Theater material that we dive into.

We also look forward to the aforementioned daunting road trip and hope the Islanders can stay afloat and win in some places they've pulled points out of before.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

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The week started very poorly, with another blown lead followed by another blowout to a familiar bully. But what looked like a new bottom gave way to an unexpected rebound. A comeback win on Halloween and a miraculous last minute victory at home got us feeling good again and kept the Islanders in the thick of a packed Eastern Conference. That wouldn't be possible without Scheafer, who continues to do things we've never seen in ways we don't expect. This kid, who was barely alive when Iron Man was first released into theaters, is proving night after night to be the hero this team needs.

We also look forward to a week of opportunities to grab more points before a brutal road trip takes the Islanders through several Stanley Cup contenders for the next two weeks. Wins are crucial but these guys never do anything the normal way. Finally, we once again are forced to do another early season edition of Master Leaf Theatre focused on a milestone 500th NHL goal that has been treated with more pity then excitement. Perfect for a guy who lives a life of discipline and disappointment.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While on a hunt for Pokémon cards with his kids, John found some NHL trading cards from 1972 that captured the soon-to-be-hapless Islanders in all their haplessness. One was a depth forward who gave what he could before getting traded just as the team turned the corner. One was a collegiate star whose NHL career never quite took off. And one was a goalie who never actually played for the Islanders, but who once won a major award, outplayed a Hall of Famer, had an even more successful sibling and was traded for a host of other notable netminders. We also throw in a bonus Weird Islander who spent two miserable seasons with them before finding success (and possibly new romantic adventures) somewhere else.

We let John and the cards take us on this journey of discovery. Along the way, we discuss the origins of the EBUG, the joys of thrift shopping on vacation and the very real guacamole recipe of a Hollywood horror icon. This is a chill, hang out episode that, while not specifically Halloween-themed, feels like a trick-or-treat bag of random goodies.

Thanks again to John for coming on again, and for inspiring the entire episode. And thanks to Chewy's Cards and Collectibles in Indian Trail, NC for providing the cards we spent over an hour discussing. Check them out if you're in the area.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The team righted its ship with two big wins, one eliciting a now-iconic quote from its star rookie. After a rare blow out victory, they lost a chippy shootout matinee that saw the introduction of another first year player who might have a future with the club. All three games had some good, some bad and some dumb, but overall put them back into the mix after a poor start. In between, Pierre Engvall was lost for the season after ankle surgery and Piero Greco was relieved of his duties as goaltending coach. Neither was surprising and might end up being good things for all parties.

In the second half, we look ahead to a challenging week of tough games and division opponents. The Islanders will need to continue to pick up wins (the earlier, the better) and learn how to play some defense if they want to get out alive. We also discuss the cancelation of whatever Olympic Kick-Off event was going to happen at UBS Arena during the All Star break, which should never have been scheduled or announced in the first place.

Finally, we praise a new YouTube documentary on the 2006-07 Islanders called "The Last Days of Bedlam" by our friend Pinholes Graham that everyone should watch right away.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a little while, they were 0-3 and staring down a quickly lost season. But two wins - neither perfect, but gutty and pesky - helped everyone breath easy for a little bit and gave the Islanders a chance to rejoin the rest of the NHL before it got too late. They took advantage of an out-of-sorts Oilers team at home, then outlasted a Senators squad on the road in a defensive clown show. Both were badly needed and had heroes and goats that will either be leaned on or replaced as the season goes. We don't need the Islanders to be great. We need them to at least not be aggravating. This week, they were more of the latter than the former.

In the second half, we look ahead to a week that could get them to .500 or beyond with a little effort. We also talk about their newest post-win prize and how it feels good to have some goofy fun again (with a totem that's wired directly into Dan's brain). Finally, we reluctantly bring you another edition of Master Leaf Theatre, that acts as a second chapter to last week's installment. We don't want to go to this well too often. But some wells are far too easy to drink from.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From a standout career at BU to a run with a great Canucks team to a monster trade to New Jersey to years in the AHL, Cory Schneider provided excellent goaltending wherever he played for 13 seasons. All the while, he managed to keep his sense of humor and gratitude about the entire experience. We ask him about all of these stops, some of the relationships he made with teammates and managers along the way, and of course his final years with the Islanders and transitioning to more of a mentor role while winning his final NHL game against the team he had the most success for. We also ask him about his budding broadcasting career and podcast with friend and former teammate Brian Boyle, and he BLOWS THE LID off a secret about MSG Network that we've always had our suspicions about.

Cory is someone we've wanted to have on the show for some time and the reasons why are made clear here. He's funny, has an unbelievable memory and has always felt like a perfect fit for the Islanders. He even does impressions! As with other former Islanders we've had or will have on, we wanted to know more about the experience of being a New York Islander and how it compares or differs from our experiences rooting for the team on the outside, and he didn't disappoint.

We can't thank Cory enough for joining us and giving us way more time than we deserved. He was everything we could have asked for and more, and he was the perfect guest to kick off Season Five of Weird Islanders: The Podcast! Join us for the rest of the season for more great episodes, great guests and, maybe, even another ex-Islander.

And be sure to check out the first episode of Weird Islanders Extra!, where Mike and Dan discuss how the interview with Cory and our interview last season with former Islander Deron Quint came about. We'll be releasing more bonus Weird Islanders Extra! episodes throughout the season, exclusively at our Patreon.

(Since recording, it's been announced that Schneider will be covering Devils games this season. We wish him luck and hope to see him back on Islanders broadcasts at some point again).

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We asked them for a couple of wins, something they haven't started a campaign with in ages. They did not do that, losing in Pittsburgh and against Washington in their home opener. Long stretches of both games featured familiar problems and a general lack of energy, which sapped a lot of the excitement out of what should be an exciting time.

But Matthew Schaefer didn't get the memo. His performances - especially in Game 2, where he scored his first NHL goal - proved that he is already the team's best player and biggest reason to watch. He played the game in a way we've never seen, streaking down the ice and trying to make something, anything - a goal, a scoring chance, a shift in momentum - happen. While his older, established teammates took one or two periods to get going, the kid who turned 18 three weeks ago was leading the way. That's fantastic for him and a bad look for everyone else. Shout out to Max Shabanov, the other guy who apparently hasn't been invited to the Country Club yet.

After talking about the loses and (mostly) Schaefer, we turn to the next few games, all against Canadian teams and all presenting more opportunities for the Islanders to either get right or show they might not have it this season. That might not be a bad thing overall, but it's going to get very old very quickly.

Finally, we go to our first edition of Master Leaf Theatre this season. It's earlier than we expected but the passage was too good to pass up.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Try a free 7-Day trial of our Country Club tier to sample what we offer.

Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After running down some of training camp and the preseason, we get to our biggest fears and worries about this season. From back-up goalie concerns to coaching doubts to the status of the team's once stout defense, there's a lot to be bothered by before the games even start. While some think there might be a resurgence, others see a team not good enough to win but not bad enough to win the lottery (even though they just did). It's an impossible season to predict so we're keeping our expectations open... until the losses start happening.

We also look at the first two games of the season against division rivals Pittsburgh and Washington. How the Islanders perform in both games will give us a clear indication of how the season is going to play out. Two wins would be huge. Two losses would be crushing. Either way, we'll look out for the tendencies we should get used to going foward.

We also give more of our annual Oddly Specific Predictions, some of which involve trades, annoyances and possible PTA meetings. We talk a little about a baseball guy who doesn't watch hockey (big shocker, there) and reflect on 10 years of Islanders Anxiety. We love getting together for these episodes, which are a perfect mix of both of us. And we thank you so much for coming along and joining us, whether you've been with us the whole time or tuning in to your first episode right now.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our last edition, we had a bunch of questions about Matthew Schaefer. Should the new star defenseman start in the NHL, go the college route or head back to junior? More importantly, which ex- or current Islander should he live with during his rookie season? And will he or one of his fellow prospects break our hearts?

If you like what you hear and want to hear the full Mail Bag episode, subscribe to our Patreon.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

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The Islanders started free agency by giving big money to Alexander Romanov and retaining Tony DeAngelo, two somewhat surprising moves that had fans shaking their heads. But as the signing window opened, some tidy pieces of business emerged: team-friendly deals for Simon Holmstrom and new guy Emil Heineman, an actual NHL backup goalie in David Rittich and a potential homerun in forward Jonathan Drouin. Finally, they snagged sought-after Russian import Maxim Shabanov, who saw the Islanders as the best fit for him. Suddenly, a pattern was formed of risk-free short-term deals that should help next year's roster.

Meanwhile, the future continues to look bright after their first prospect camp in seven years let a new batch of Uncles grab some of the spotlight. Matthew Schaefer, Cole Eiserman, Isaiah George and others got to flash some skills and personality in front of clamoring fans, and saw the passion they can look forward to as full time Islanders. It was a surprisingly inspiring time and let us head into the offseason feeling good.

Finally, we take a tour around the NHL at some of the notable free agents who signed elsewhere and say good bye to the awful TSN Free Agent Frenzy Show (and, unfortunately, the wonderful Bob McKenzie).

Thank you all very much for listening this season. This is the season finale but Country Club tier members at the Patreon will get content all summer long including a special standalone Master Leaf Theatre releasing next Wednesday.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar. Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's so much to discuss that it's easy to forget that the Islanders drafted Matthew Schaefer - the No. 1 rated prospect in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, a singular defenseman and an exemplary human - first overall. Schaefer's introduction to Long Island has already been an event, and he hasn't even played a game for them yet. Had they simply walked out of Friday's draft with just him, it would have been considered a win.

But before the draft, GM Mathieu Darche made a huge decision, trading defenseman Noah Dobson to Montreal for a pair of first round picks and depth forward Emil Heineman. The move shocked even those who expected it and wasn't met with universal praise from Islanders fans, who saw the team's best blueliner leave for futures and sign with the Canadiens for eight years. As we've learned more, it seems as if the player had a lot of leverage and Darche did the best he could.

The trade also set fans up for what they thought was a second shocking move. And while drafting James Hagens didn't materialize, Darche did use the Habs' picks to get two highly-touted prospects in winger Victor Eklund and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson, as well as even more rated prospects in Day 2. They've been getting great marks from the Prospect Perverts and Draft Grifters, which is better than getting raked over the coals. More than anything, it means that development has become a focus again after too many years of stitching the ship back together and hoping it still floats.

In the last segment, we discuss two Bridgeport signings (one very surprising), the team's Restricted Free Agents outlook and take a stab at some Unrestricted Free Agents they might take a run at.

There's a lot to digest before Tuesday at noon when free agency begins.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.Visit our friends

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season's chase came down to two men, although our winner was more than deserving of the honor. The circumstances that brought him to the Islanders were unique and presented an opportunity that he took and ran with. Based on his career and reputation, none of us ever saw him ever playing for the team. But once he did arrive, he gave them something we hadn't seen in this manic season: a totally normal performance from a defenseman. He might not be here much longer, but together we learned that hockey normalcy can sometimes come from the most unlikely of sources.

Our runner-up also personified the season-long question of, "Where is everybody?" His single performance was brief as it could possibly be, but it was a flashpoint at the time and might still be having some lingering effects as we head into the offseason and the next campaign. Let's hope it's not the only NHL action he sees in his career.

The winner of the Weirdest Islander of the Year is awarded the Don Cutts Trophy for his efforts. And the concept of Weirdest Islander of the Year comes from Patron Will Forthman. The opening clip was from Weird Islanders: The Podcast - Episode 50 - The Weirdest Islander of the Year 2024.

Thanks again to Matty for coming on, for his humor and his hot tub. Follow him on Twitter at @ExIsledUsher). If you see a man in a Roosevelt Raceway hat tearing up the Flanders Duck one of these days, you'll know who it is.

And thank you all for your votes and for listening to Season 4 of Weird Islanders: The Podcast! We got to make some new friends and caught up with some old ones for a great slate of short timers. We'll be back next season for more (and, hopefully, more ex-Islanders as well).

WEIRDEST ISLANDER OF THE YEAR:

• 2024 - Robert Bortuzzo

• 2025 - ???

  
  

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.

• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been quiet around the Islanders lately while still-new GM Mathieu Darche conducts his business. But the team has announced some fresh blood in the form of new assistant coaches Ray Bennett and Bob Boughner and most recently, new assistant GM/Director of Player Personnel Ryan Bowness. We have no idea what these guys will do with the Islanders but their hirings give us a chance to laugh about bad penalty kills, penalty minute trivia and the Ghosts of Assistant Coaches Past (shout out to the great Jacques LaPerriere).

In the second half, we look at the draft one more time as the Islanders' moment in the spotlight nears (but not fast enough). Can they get both Matthew Schaeffer and James Hagens? Is this all a conspiracy against the Islanders? How can this all go wrong? We also talk about changes the team can make beyond the roster to give them a higher profile than they were allowed under the previous regime. We want more organ music and less Empire State Building, unless Sparky is climbing it like King Kong.

Thanks again to Sean for coming on. Follow him wherever and keep an eye out for Hockey Night in New York on Twitch, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October of 2012, the Islanders announced that they would start play in Barclays Center for the 2015-16 season, ending 40+ years of glory and struggle at Nassau Coliseum. Even the most hardened haters were encouraged by the news... for about five minutes. Before they moved into the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, there were already problems; building was critiqued and criticized, the people in charge didn't have a clue, and the fans weren't happy while the players tried to make the best of it. It wasn't long before an exit strategy - which turned into UBS Arena, back on Long Island - was needed.

Still, we have a lot of nostalgia for this very strange period in franchise history, especially for some players who made their only appearances with the Islanders during it.

Whether they were disappointing trade deadline acquisitions, "veteran" presences, minor league call ups or constant healthy scratches, these players best represent the bastardized, black-clad, hipster bearded, Brooklyn version of the Islanders that, in spite of everything working against it, actually had some success.

Thanks again to Will for not only chatting but coming to us with the idea for this super duper-sized walk down Memory Lane. You can follow the Isles Meet Up groups on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook to find the one closest to you.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ and at ⁠⁠⁠Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠.

Drum sfx via ⁠⁠⁠Zapsplat.com⁠⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Dan talk about fan conventions, one Mike created and one where Dan finished a quest that took over 30 years to complete.

Years ago, Mike was one of the driving forces behind FrancesaCon, a day-long celebration of New York sports radio icon Mike Francesa. What started as a loose bar crawl turned into three jam-packed dates over three years at another NYC institution, Irving Plaza, and even earned participation by Da Pope himself. Luminaries like Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, boxing champ Amir Khan and football Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood all attended and FrancesaCon hit the big time, even getting covered by ESPN and other outlets. Mike tells the full story about how the con came about, the relationships he made along the way that are still going and some of the funny behind-the-scenes stories from those wild times.

Dan's con story is much different. At a local comic con in April, he found the missing piece to a collection that he had been growing since he was eight years old. As the feeling of relief and happiness washed over him, so did a little confusion as to what to do next. After decades of comic cons all over the area, this small New Jersey one stands as the most important in his life.

And, of course, as is tradition on this non-hockey podcast, the Islanders do come up a few times.

No matter what world a convention is in, the best part is gathering with people who "get you," and feeling free to be in a world you truly feel comfortable in.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠⁠⁠).

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The most amazing thing about Darche's first press conference as Islanders GM was just how normal it was. From streaming it on the team's website to the little jokes about learning everyone's names, the hour-long presser was as by-the-book as it gets, which is why the new guy came off pretty well. Announcing there would be new assistant coaches and a new staff for the bedraggled AHL team was icing on the pound cake. We got clarity on the head coach - again, not a surprise - but one name wasn't heard, which was all the opening some folks needed to start wondering about whether or not the team was in the right hands.

Darche then signed two players to contracts that were most likely already in his desk drawer by the time he sat behind it for the first time. Kyle Palmieri's new deal is a bit of a hometown discount and a devil-you-know-versus-the-devil-you-don't scenario. At a modest number and just two years, it gives him the stability he wants while also letting the Islanders move him next year should things go sideways. If he scores in his usual neighborhood of goals, it could turn out great. Adam Boqvist also returns on a cheap one year deal with an RFA expiry. What position he plays next season is anyone's guess.

All of this is very sensible, especially for a new GM with a lot on his plate. The only question is: why was Mitt Romney sitting next to him at that press conference?

We also take a few minutes to talk about the Stanley Cup final rematch, featuring our allies the Florida Panthers versus the Edmonton Oilers, who just might be pissed off enough from last year to sneak past the Cats this time.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠⁠, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wisniewski was already well-traveled before he was acquired by the Islanders to augment their blueline offense. But when Mark Streit went down with an injury in the preseason, Wisniewski became a key contributor and point producer... until one game against the Rangers and a decision that got him suspended. Over the course of another month and a half, he endured a long losing streak, a coach firing and getting accosted by a Long Island nurse just before Christmas. Then he was traded to Montreal before the end of the calendar year, leaving just as quickly as he arrived.

There was a reason he played for so many teams - James Wisniewski was pretty good! He found ways to produce no matter where he played. Unfortunately, he also found new ways to get suspended, which probably explains why he was moved so often.

For Ryan, this season was his first as an Islanders fan and that fateful date with the Rangers was his first ever live game experience. We talk about Wisniewski's crazy career, his early hockey blogging, how his game should be soundtracked by Linkin Park and other on-the-fly fun facts.

We also throw in a bonus Weird Islander! Johan Sundstrom was drafted with the pick the Islanders got from the Canadiens for Wisniewski and was expected to be the next Frans Nielsen but ended up having a short North American career with a few odd footnotes.

Thanks again to Ryan for coming on. Be sure to subscribe to Skates at the Stakes. And yes, we held this back so it would be Episode 69.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• ⁠⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit ⁠⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ and at ⁠⁠Bandcamp⁠⁠.

Drum sfx via ⁠⁠Zapsplat.com⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Islanders fans across the U.S. prepared for Memorial Day weekend, the Islanders dropped the news that their GM search was over. Mathieu Darche seemed like an unlikely choice given his lack of experience running an NHL club, but he won the owners over and beat out former GMs like Marc Bergevin and Jarmo Kekäläinen. The search that got them to Darche wasn't smooth (and involved a few more big names and swings that went nowhere). But Darche represents a truly new era for the club and only time will tell if it was the right move. For now, all we can do is observe and see where he takes them.

In the second half, we enjoy another new installment of Master Leaf Theatre, as former team president Brendan Shanahan is told he will be leaving the Ford Performance Center, forcing many Leafs writers/fans to reckon with the failed "Shanaplan" (that they named). We also add a new character to the Master Leaf Theatre canon in MLSE CEO Keith Pelley, who loves to make up stories about his kids and blow smoke up people's behinds. We might have one more in us this offseason, depending on how things shake out up north. But if not, at least we got our thoughts out.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Islanders still have no general manager but that may change soon. Second interviews are happening and two final candidates have emerged (assuming no one else shakes loose from the recently eliminated) who represent experience versus new blood. Even without a GM, the Islanders' scouts are hard at work deciding who to use the first overall pick on. While fan debate rages, we reexamine what we thought we knew about the prospects at the top of the class and discover new ways things can go totally wrong.

Then it's on to one of our favorite segments of the year, as Toronto's hockey team once again cloaks itself in failure and embarrassment, we enjoy a new edition of Master Leaf Theatre. The main targets this time are the possibly outgoing team president and the hometown boy who does everything except show up in the playoffs and is now being chased out by an angry mob. There's poetry and motion, anger, humor and a soundbite that already feels like it will live in infamy. It's a Dickensian drama we enjoy year after year, and this might be the most massively magnificent one of all.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• ⁠The Pinot Project⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit ⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠@FansFirstSN⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠on Spotify⁠, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While he is still mostly connected to their chief rival, Smith has been part of the Islanders going back to their very beginnings. He was a draft pick, a player and a scout before finally getting his chance to be their GM in the summer of 2006. But the unorthodox ideas of owner Charles Wang clashed with what Smith (and everyone else) knew was the proper way to run an NHL team. Although he was let go after just month-and-a-half, many of his decisions would benefit the Islanders for years to come.

Smith speaks very plainly about getting hired by Wang, the personal distress the job caused him and his acrimonious dismissal, as well as his relationships with fellow "committee" members Ted Nolan and Bryan Trottier, and the acquisitions of players like Kyle Okposo, Mike Sillinger, Brendan Witt and Chris Simon. He also tells us how the dynasty Islanders figured into the Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup championship and how the Islanders should approach having the first overall pick in this year's draft.

We also hear some great stories about helping build another champion in Detroit, being the first D1 captain for the current NCAA champion Western Michigan Broncos and working with Jaclyn Smith and Armand Assante on a TV miniseries in 1983. We cover a lot in an hour so buckle up.

Thanks again to Neil for coming on and being so open and honest. Be sure to check out his NHL Wraparound podcast, especially their upcoming special celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Islanders' first Stanley Cup, which releases (appropriately) on May 24th.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on ⁠Spotify⁠ and at ⁠Bandcamp⁠.

Drum sfx via ⁠Zapsplat.com⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite having a 3.5% chance of winning and no general manager in place, the Islanders walked out of the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery with the first overall pick in this season's draft. As Isles legend Ken Morrow - a man who only knows winning - looked on over a video call, his team got an instant ticket to erase the nonstop weirdness of this season. And of the available players at the top of this year's draft lists - including big defenseman Matthew Schaefer and Erie forward Michael Misa - only one is from Long Island and grew up a die hard Islanders fan.

Boston College forward James Hagens should be the Islanders pick in June. This is an opportunity that comes around exactly never for this franchise. Being able to take a kid that already knows the team and its history should supersede whatever the grifters and talking heads have on their lists. If he doesn't work out, then he doesn't work out. But not taking him and seeing him succeed elsewhere would be worse than taking him and seeing him fail at home on his favorite team.

In the second half, we discuss the other weirdness of the day, including the governor of New York being mad that the 2026 All Star Game at UBS Arena won't be an actual All Star Game, and the Kings saying good bye to their GM, which might impact the Islanders' search for one.

Monday had the feeling of a momentous day in Islanders history. Only time will tell which way it went.

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, ⁠⁠click here⁠⁠.

⁠Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since letting go of Lou Lamoriello, a lot of names have popped up around the Islanders' vacant general manager (and possibly team president) role. While some names are new and intriguing, some are old and tired. But without Lamoriello keeping a lid on things, any name getting out is new territory. We discuss a few of the names and throw in a few of our own should the team look to make two new hires.

We also make clear our feelings about the team letting go of longtime radio voices Chris King and Greg Picker. There's no monetary reason for letting two valuable resources get away and the organization should bring both back in some capacity, even if they switch to a radio/TV simulcast model.

In the second half, we look around the Metro Division as more teams make coaching changes (or wait on to make it's own decision on the other side of the continent). While one rival makes sure we all know how much everyone loves each other, the other doubles down on a GM everyone seems to hate. It's a shame we can't fully enjoy the chaos but that won't stop us from trying.

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, ⁠click here⁠.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

• ⁠The Pinot Project⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

• Visit ⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠@FansFirstSN⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠on Spotify⁠, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Morrow was the exact opposite of a Weird Islander - he was a reliable, steady presence for a decade as the Islanders dominated the NHL. Even off the ice, the lanky defenseman is far more normal and humble than a gold medalist and a four-time Stanley Cup champion should be. But as we trace Morrow's career throughout his memoir - Miracle Gold, Four Stanley Cups, and a Lifetime of Islanders Hockey - we learn about some of the other characters that played roles, including former Olympic teammates, fellow Bowling Green alums, various Hall of Famers and a couple of short time Islanders that he mentions in the book.

Kreda reveals how the book came about, what Morrow is like as a person and a player and his importance in Islanders history. But as a journalist that's followed the Islanders and covered them for a number of outlets, Kreda also tells us about players like Alex McKendry and Hector Marini, who managed to score massive goals during the dynasty run and get their names on the Cup despite not being around long.

It's not often that we get to talk about Islanders greats on this show, and it was equally satisfying to get a couple of perfect Weird Islanders in there as well. This episode is very special and we can't thank Allan enough for coming on. You should buy Miracle Gold today from wherever you can.

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, ⁠click here⁠.

⁠Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• ⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• ⁠The Pinot Project⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit ⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠@FansFirstSN⁠).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks again to Ryan for coming on. Since recording the episode, his podcast Pucks on Net has decided to end its incredible 11-year run, but you can still check out episodes and follow him on Bluesky at @schaaptop.bsky.social.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you'd like to hear the full version of this two-part Monthly Mail Bag podcast and all of our Monthly Mail Bags, and get a chance to ask a question for an upcoming episode, head over to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks again to Greg for coming on. Order "Hapless Islanders" from Amazon today and also pick up a copy of "Dynasty" if you don't already have it. And check out his music writing at Allmusic.com and Guitar.com.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With some extra special thanks to Warren Zevon.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks again to Pinholes for coming on. We are huge fans of his YouTube videos on weird or forgotten NHL tidbits and we cannot recommend them enough. Check them all out at youtube.com/@PinholesGraham.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The full version includes our answers to questions about rebuilds, EBUGs, James Hagans, free agents, one-season wonders and, somehow, comic books. We also talk about what the NHL could actually do to remedy their dire TV product (as opposed to what we normally do, which is just tear down the whole operation). We also expose what we thought was common knowledge: that the "Josh Bailey Song" isn't actually about Josh Bailey at all!

To hear the full episode without ads, go to Patreon.com/islandersanxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier. That gives you access to our full archive of Monthly Mail Bags and lets you ask your own question for our next edition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Note: This episode was recorded during the summer. We decided to run the episode at its originally scheduled time due to our appreciation for the player and his time as an Islander.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To hear the full version, visit Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier. There, you can hear another hour-plus of questions about potential trade options, both expected and not, the ongoing mystery of the NHL's phantom TV network and whether rooting for another team is the answer (and which teams to root for). We also find time to laugh at Stan Fischler's "Iggy Piggy" tweets and that time the 1979 Islanders let their hearts and mouths sing Christmas classics.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We can't thank Abbey enough for giving us a huge chunk of her time. She's an insightful athlete and a dedicated Islanders fan and we wish her and the Sirens the best of luck this season, which starts on Sunday, Dec. 1 at Prudential Center, where they will be playing all of their home games.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Note: This episode was recorded before the season began. Räty made the Canucks roster out of camp but was assigned to Abbotsford of the AHL on Oct. 16.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our eternal thanks to Deron for coming on with us and sharing his stories. We couldn't have asked for a better first ever Islander, and his generosity and memory (for games that happened in 2007 and beyond) is incredible. This is just the first of a whole season of great Weird Islanders coming up so don't miss them.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But here's some actual good news: Weird Islanders: The Podcast! returns for Season Four this Friday.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This summer, John Tavares was removed as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs in favor of Auston Matthews. What followed a few days later was a cringy press conference at a restaurant and (predictably) a wave of even more cringe-inducing articles written by some of the stars of the Leafs Industrial Complex.

Joined by actor, writer, podcaster and our friend Michael Paul Smith, we reinterpret these breathless columns in even more dramatic fashion, bestowing upon them the ridiculousness they deserve. Through Michael's emoting and our choices of cinematic music, we discover new classics such as children that don't exist (or getting used as cruel propaganda), new paths toward personal fulfillment, unfair dismissiveness, selfless acts of non-leadership and straight up lies. We also examine every excerpt and dissect just how insane they all are. Be sure to check out Michael's podcast, Ted and Michael Read Sketches Into Microphones.

But that's not all. In the interest of equal time, we also speak with another friend, The Athletic's Arthur Staple, who lays out a bold and unlikely scenario in which Tavares returns to the Islanders should he hit free agency. It sounds crazy at first, but Art makes a compelling case that may make you actually want to see it happen. Just hear him out (and buy his wife Beth's book - The Snap: A Novel - available everywhere right now).

Thanks to both Michael and Arthur for giving us their time and energy this summer. This is easily the best Master Leaf Theatre we've ever done and is exclusive to Patreon for right now. Should Tavares not be signed to an extension by the start of the season, we'll make it free for everyone.

Works referenced in this episode:

• Matthews getting the 'C' with Maple Leafs was inevitable, but timing is compelling by LukeFoxJukeBox.
• How John Tavares handled passing Maple Leafs' captaincy to Auston Matthews by LukeFoxJukeBox.
• Johnston: John Tavares’ graceful exit as Maple Leafs captain could lead to longer stay in Toronto by Chris Johnston ($).
• Handing Over the 'C' Must Not Have Been Easy, But It's What Made John Tavares a Perfect Toronto Maple Leafs Captain by Michael Traikos.
• Auston Matthews is ready for the added spotlight that comes with being Maple Leafs captain by Joshua Kloke ($).
• This tweet by Jeff Veillette.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).
• Master Leaf Theatre theme: The Lively Garden (instrumental) by Morris

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify, including their new album "God Looks Out for Fools."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best wishes to our friend Brian Compton in his battle against MS. He has our full support.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After working out at Northwell Health all summer, Islanders fan Kinkaid finally gets a chance to play for his boyhood team. While the goalie's energy is infectious, it forced Lou Lamoriello to address injury concerns about Ilya Sorokin that have the hosts of several minds. Meanwhile, 13-year Islanders legend Martin comes to camp on a tryout with a shot to make the team, which might be awkward for him, his friends and the younger players trying to beat him out.

And as of now, Clutterbuck remains in limbo, not coming back to the Islanders while pondering PTOs from other teams or perhaps retirement. An understandable move on paper, it will be weird seeing him play somewhere else, especially after the first healthy season he's had in a long time.

Good thing the franchise retains a Shadow Team of ex-Islanders who are constantly around because they never actually retired.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts and much more. Or follow us for free to get announcements and our weekly release calendar.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To hear the full episode, head over to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sign up for Country Club tier at Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety to hear a special deleted story from Mike's friend Kenny, who not only owns the greatest shirt ever made but tells the tale of how he snuck into one of the most important Islanders games in recent history.

Thank you so much again to everyone who came out and shared their stories or just enjoyed the afternoon at Offside NYC. We had a great group and a ton of laughs. And special thanks to manager Thomas, liaison/raffle master Michael Paul Smith, Will Stevens and the rest of Isles Meetups NYC, and the legendary Nick Costa for their support in setting up, promoting and running the event. We needed all the help we could get, but maybe this is the first of many live gatherings.

Since this was our first time recording live, the quality isn't as perfect as we had hoped. But it gets better as the show goes on and, most importantly, our guest speakers come through loud and clear. So please bear with us, and you won't be disappointed.

This is our season finale for Season Three of Weird Islanders: The Podcast! We'll be back next season with an all new slate of guests, stories and momentary members of this one-of-a-kind franchise. Thanks for listening this season and enjoy the summer.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He tells us why ex-cricket players make better on-air talent than ex-NHL players, how one visiting journalist became an Islanders fan over the course of his short stay on Long Island, and how one unfortunate Islanders fan video still haunts the team across the continent.

To hear the full episode, and all of our other Country Club Atmosphere episodes (it's our non-hockey podcast that somehow always ends up back at hockey), head over to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Later, we tackle some different possible timelines for the Islanders, body switching, time travelling and uses for a few other super powers. We also discuss jersey choices, Islanders media choices, and UBS Arena food choices, and joke about making movies and starting our own podcast network. Things get wild, but it feels good to talk Islanders in the middle of summer.

To hear the full episode, head over to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And, of course, thanks again to Jon for joining us again. He’s one of our favorites to talk to all through the season. Follow him at @JonZella and look for the season finale of the Nassaumen Hockey podcast soon (I think).

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To hear the full two hour-plus episode, head over to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier. There you'll be able to hear all of our past Monthly Mail Bag episodes and ask a question for a future installment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thank you for listening to this special episode. If you would like to hear more like this, please let us know.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Master Pens Theater theme is "The Rule" by Kevin MacLeod, available at FreeMusicArchive.org.

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks again to Adam for coming on. You can follow him on Twitter at @AGretz. He’s one of the good Penguins fans.

NOTE: This episode was recorded around the trade deadline and before the Penguins starting making a charge for the playoffs. We still had a good discussion about the state of the team so it was left in. This episode is also dedicated to the memory of Chris Simon.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our live event is at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To hear the full episode, which is nearly two hours long and covers many, many more topics, sign up for the Country Club tier at Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety. We'll be back Wednesday with a new episode of Islanders Anxiety.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a young Rick DiPietro (allegedly) ready for starting duty, the Islanders chose to trade Osgood to St. Louis for one of the Blues' most tantalizing prospects. Papineau was capable of flashing skill but it was often either in exhibition games or on very rare occasion during the regular season. After two up-and-down seasons between Long Island and Bridgeport, a major injury took him out for months. Following the 2005 lockout, he made his way to Europe for a long tour. But somehow, he became somewhat of a symbol of a very weird transitional period in Islanders history.

Papineau was one of many Islanders prospects that were sold as the future of the franchise and ended up fizzling out. If you think the current Islanders prospect pool is the worst in the NHL, let us take you back to the early 2000's, a truly dire time. When Janne Niinimaa is your leading scorer in a playoff series, you got problems.

Thanks again to Carey for coming on. It's always a pleasure talking with him, and we've been waiting a long time for this and to get to Papineau. Between this and our Osgood episode, it feels like that weird circuit is now closed.

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have two new Islanders bobbleheads commemorating the Stadium Series game at Met Life Stadium. Order your Ilya Sorokin or Sparky The Dragon bobblehead today at FOCO dot com. These are limited to 124 pieces so act now.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The late 90’s Detroit Red Wings and Islanders were barely playing the same sport. One was the best team of its era and the other was all but dead in the water. But after making splashy trades for centers Michael Peca and Alexei Yashin, the Islanders - now owned by billionaire Charles Wang - were in position to take advantage of the Red Wings having to put Osgood on waivers after they signed Dominik Hasek. With “Ozzy” giving them the best netminding they had seen in years, the Islanders emerged as a force and rolled into a classic playoff series against Toronto.

Mike, Mike and Dan talk about where they were when they heard about Osgood’s acquisition (shoutout to Cheesecake Factory) and how wild it was to see such a respected, decorated player wearing the blue and orange. Well, at least some blue and orange... with Osgood’s mismatched pad set-up being just as memorable as the team he played on. We talk about how quickly he fell into the Islanders mindset, how his trade away a year later let the air out of an exciting run and how Osgood remembers his short time on Long Island (Spoiler: it’s occasionally painful).

Thanks again to Michael for coming on again. It’s always great catching up with him. Listen to his hilarious sketch comedy podcast Ted and Michael Read Sketches into Microphones wherever you get your podcasts.

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a pedigree that included bushels of goals and a Memorial Cup, Dal Colle seemed like the perfect pick for the still building Islanders. But before he could take his place on John Tavares’s wing, the young forward would experience a series of demoralizing setbacks. Whether it was injuries, getting cut from Team Canada or frustrating slumps, Dal Colle just couldn’t catch a break for years. Then a funny thing happened: he emerged from the minors as a defensive wizard, helping lock down other teams and playing a key role in the Islanders two recent semifinal seasons (albeit mostly in the regular season).

Compton walks us through his interactions with Dal Colle during his time covering the Islanders, and tells us what Dal Colle was expected to be and how he changed his game over time. We also talk about how Dal Colle’s family played a huge role in his story, which is still ongoing as he tours Europe on a number of teams.

Thanks again to BComp for coming on. While he’s not on the Islanders everyday beat anymore, his presence and influence is still all over Islanders Twitter, blogs and podcasts. And yes, the Mets are still ruining his life.

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Signed as a budget free agent with a small chance of upside, Regin started the 2013-14 season with a great goal and high hopes, then quickly went cold for months. Even depth and good vibes seemed too much to ask from him, and he faded into the background of a disappointing team going nowhere. When he and another sideways summer signing were dumped for a draft pick at the deadline, it seemed like a merciful end to a sad short story. But that was only the beginning... and it turns out the Islanders are still haunted by the episode even today.

Thanks so much to Tyler for coming on. It was a long time in the making but it resulted in an episode for the ages. Check out his funny fatherhood podcast, Father Material, and keep an eye out for some of the film projects he’s created over his career.

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. If you spend $50 or more, use the code FOURCUPS to get a free The Island coffee mug or pint glass or an Islanders Anxiety puck.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Sign up for our Country Club tier through December to receive an Islanders Anxiety Club iron-on patch.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike, Dan and Travis talk about Ronning’s reputation before he came to the Islanders and surprising production while in the blue-and-orange. They give Milbury some (very rare) praise for grabbing a free former All Star when the team suffered a series of serious injuries to their forward corps. And Travis tells us the personal story about his connection to Ronning and a friend who discovered the magic of hockey during a game in that still unbelievable half season.

Thanks again to Travis for coming on. Fun Fact: This was the first episode we recorded for this season way back in September! LHH wouldn’t be what it is without Travis, one of the smartest Islanders fans we know. If you’re on Twitter and not following him at @NDRedEagle, you’re doing it wrong.

Merry Christmas to all of you from all of us.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Sign up for our Country Club tier through December to receive an Islanders Anxiety Club iron-on patch.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. If you spend $50 or more, use the code FOURCUPS to get a free The Island coffee mug or pint glass or an Islanders Anxiety puck.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have something for every fan this holiday season. Check out their 2023 Holiday Gift Guide here.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com. Jingle bell sfx also via ZapSplat.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our next episode will record on December 26, so have a Merry and Festive Christmas.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Sign up for our Country Club tier through December to receive an Islanders Anxiety Club iron-on patch.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have something for every fan this holiday season. Check out their 2023 Holiday Gift Guide here.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon to hear more shows like this! Patrons get ad-free episodes of our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Sign up for our Country Club tier through December to receive an Islanders Anxiety Club iron-on patch!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Sign up for our Country Club tier through December to receive an Islanders Anxiety Club iron-on patch.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have something for every fan this holiday season. Check out their 2023 Holiday Gift Guide here.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CHECK OUT OUR PATREON PAGE FOR A SPECIAL BONUS CONVERSATION WITH US AND SAB ABOUT LOU LAMORIELLO AND THE ISLANDERS' CURRENT STATUS.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. If you spend $50 or more, use the code FOURCUPS to get a free The Island coffee mug or pint glass or an Islanders Anxiety puck.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more. Sign up for our Country Club tier through December to receive an Islanders Anxiety Club iron-on patch.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have something for every fan this holiday season. Check out their 2023 Holiday Gift Guide here.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Barzal was the only consistent player on the roster, the Islanders were seemingly falling apart at the seams. They played in an unsatisfying new arena under an unproven head coach with a fiery personality that wasn't always helpful. They couldn't keep the puck out of their own net or string wins together to dig themselves out of a late season hole. Oh, and their captain was going to be a free agent at the end of season...

But through all of that chaos, Mat Barzal stunned and startled fans and rival players with his high level of skill, absurd skating abilities, hockey smarts and a fearlessness to try risky plays. They didn't always work (and could drive his coaches crazy) but you couldn't take your eyes off of him. He gave Islanders Country not only a reason to jump out of their seats but the hope that they would soon have the forward depth to compete with the NHL's best clubs. Needless to say, it didn't work out that way.

This is the final episode of Islanders Award Winners. Barzal's Calder Trophy felt like a demarcation point between the Islanders of the past and the Islanders of the future. Following this erratic season, the team hired Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz, built UBS Arena and became perhaps the most stable they ever have been (yes, even during the dynasty era). Barzal was drafted in a time when they were known for doing the unexpected. Now, he's a core member of one of the closest locker rooms in the league. Last summer, he signed an eight-year contract extension keeping him with the team for the majority, if not the entirety, of his career. Even as a young guy, he's seen just about everything. And we're just happy we get to keep watching him.

Thank you all very much for listening to this season. It's been a ton of work, but I'm proud of how they turned out. As a fan, I wanted to have something like this, so I went out and made it myself. I hope they stand the test of time and can teach new fans some things they might not have known or transport older fans back to players and moments they remember.

Research and other assistance was provided by Kevin Schultz. Visit VintageIceHockey.com, where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies and mugs featuring the logos over over 100 classic hockey teams from all across North America, as well as our own Al Arbour tribute shirt. Use the code ANXIETY20 to get 20 percent off an order of two items. Our portion of the sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

This episode of Islanders Award Winners was written using archival material from Newsday, The New York Times, The Athletic, ESPN, NewYorkIslanders.com, NHL.com, Sportsnet and Lighthouse Hockey, Stanley Cup of Chowder and Pension Plan Puppets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We also announce a new perk for Patreon subscribers - iron-on "Islanders Anxiety Club" patches - and a new free option to keep up to date on what's coming up next for the podcast.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. Kentucky Thoroughblades shirts and Long Island Ducks replica jerseys are now available!
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• The fine folks at FOCO have something for every fan this holiday season. Check out their 2023 Holiday Gift Guide here.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we finally reach his final Norris Trophy year, in which the Islanders win their first regular season championship and Potvin has, to this day, the best single season a defensemen has ever had for this franchise.

Potvin’s 101 points on 31 goals and 70 assists in 1978-89 was by all accounts a spectacular campaign, highlighted by hat tricks, long point streaks, torrid periods of dominance and one hit that would result in an unfortunate injury and even more unfortunate chant that has gone on for far too long. With Potvin leading the way on defense, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Clark Gillies pushing the offense and Smith/Resch duo on top of their games, the Islanders seemed primed to win their first Stanley Cup. But their closest rivals made sure they had one last hard lesson to learn.

This is, thankfully, the final time we’ll see the 1979 playoffs in this series. As painful as that loss was to the players and the fans, that whole season stands as one of the most fascinating in franchise history. It is still the second best season in team history by wins and points and is the only one in which the team won four major awards. That roster had everything going for it. Until it didn’t... at the worst possible time to the worst possible opponent.

Denis Potvin’s Islanders story doesn’t end here but his offensive and statistical dominance does. He would captain four straight Stanley Cup winners and make the Hall of Fame by letting others in on the action and becoming a key player, rather than the focal point. He’s still one of the three best players in Islanders history and I hope this episode makes that case as clearly as it can.

Research and other assistance was provided by Kevin Schultz. Visit VintageIceHockey.com, where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies and mugs featuring the logos over over 100 classic hockey teams from all across North America, as well as our own Al Arbour tribute shirt. Use the code ANXIETY20 to get 20 percent off an order of two items. Our portion of the sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

This episode of Islanders Award Winners was written using Wikipedia, archival material from Newsday, MacLean’s, The Montreal Gazette, The New York Times and Sports Illustrated, as well as the books Power on Ice by Denis Potvin and Stan Fischler, Boss: The Mike Bossy Story, New York Islanders: Countdown to A Dynasty by Barry Wilner, Pride and Passion: 25 Years of the New York Islanders by Stan Fischler and Chris Botta and Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders 1972-1984 by Greg Prato.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Bandcamp and on Spotify.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks again to Ethan for coming on. Check out his work at Gotham Sports Network if you're a Giants fan. And he's a must-follow on Twitter at @EthanGSN.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. If you spend $50 or more, use the code FOURCUPS to get a free The Island coffee mug or pint glass or an Islanders Anxiety puck.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The bad news was that his mouth and idiosyncratic disposition separated him from many of his peers and even his own teammates. An inflammatory series of diaries written during the 1976 Canada Cup tournament made many in and out of the game think of him as a petulant grouch or an outright villain.

But by beginning his journey as a businessman, taking a more team-oriented approach to hockey and opening himself up emotionally to his teammates, Potvin - still just 24-years-old - was able to unburden himself from pressure and expectations. In a season in which the Islanders started out sloppy and ended up with their first division championship, Potvin was a rock of consistency. After watching his brother Jean get traded away from Long Island, Denis went on a second half scoring rampage, blowing past his defensive competition to reclaim the Norris Trophy crown and prove once and for all that he was the premier blueliner of the era.

But in the playoffs, the once scrappy underdogs learned a hard lesson about being the favorite and having a target on your back.

Denis Potvin remains one of the more fascinating figures in Islanders history. He was so good on the ice that any perceived cold streak or bad play seemed like the end of the world. He wasn’t into the usual hockey guy things (aka just “hockey”) and had a million interests away from the ice. Had social media existed in the mid-to-late 70’s, I’m not sure he would have particularly cared for it. There’s an argument that even with a Calder and three Norris Trophies (the last of which we’ll examine in our next episode) that he might have still been underrated then and now.

So let’s go back and see what made Denis Potvin so special.

Research and other assistance was provided by Kevin Schultz. Visit VintageIceHockey.com, where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies and mugs featuring the logos over over 100 classic hockey teams from all across North America, as well as our own Al Arbour tribute shirt. Use the code ANXIETY20 to get 20 percent off an order of two items. Our portion of the sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

This episode of Islanders Award Winners was written using Wikipedia, archival material from Newsday, MacLean’s, The Montreal Gazette, The New York Times and Sports Illustrated, as well as the books Power on Ice by Denis Potvin and Stan Fischler, Boss: The Mike Bossy Story by Mike Bossy with Barry Meisel, New York Islanders: Countdown to A Dynasty by Barry Wilner, Pride and Passion: 25 Years of the New York Islanders by Stan Fischler and Chris Botta and Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders 1972-1984 by Greg Prato.

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For much of the 1982-83 regular season, the Islanders did not look like three-time defending Stanley Cup champions, let alone a team that could win the Cup again. They were old and occasionally leaky, and sometimes they seemed downright disinterested.

But once the playoffs started, the “real” Islanders showed up again, led by the man they called “The Money Goalie.”

Billy Smith didn’t take losing lightly. And he didn’t like being the weak link or the feeling of letting his friends down. After a series against a pesky playoff-debuting Washington team that required the aid of creasemate Roland Melanson to win, Smith became a man on a mission. He battled and scrambled and pushed and parried his way through series victories against the Rangers and Bruins before eventually dismantling the cocky, high-flying Edmonton Oilers and angering all of Canada in the process.

No matter what the Oilers did on the ice or what their coach/GM said or what the media printed, Smith gave it back in spades, refusing to concede even an inch. When the Cup final was over, and Smith was rightfully awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, he continued to vocally lay waste to the people that had made him Public Enemy No. 1 in his home country.

Perhaps more than anyone, Smith felt the condescension or dismissiveness people had for the Islanders despite their success. And he was determined to make them pay for their insolence.

Hooo, boy. This is a fun one. We also touch on the Islanders’ other three Conn Smythe winners and a few that missed out despite some outstanding postseason performances. Guess that’s the price you pay for playing on one of the greatest teams ever assembled.

Research and other assistance was provided by Kevin Schultz. Visit VintageIceHockey.com, where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies and mugs featuring the logos over over 100 classic hockey teams from all across North America, as well as our own Al Arbour tribute shirt. Use the code ANXIETY20 to get 20 percent off an order of two items. Our portion of the sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

This episode of Islanders Award Winners was written using archival material from Newsday, The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, “Maven’s Memories: Rollie Melanson, The Forgotten Hero” from newyorkislanders.com and the books New York Islanders: Countdown to A Dynasty by Barry Wilner, Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders 1972-1984 by Greg Prato and Pride and Passion: 25 Years of the New York Islanders by Stan Fischler and Chris Botta.

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Subscribe to our Patreon! Plans start as low as $2 a month and patrons get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.