The Rebuild
By Cory Wright
When the New York Islanders embarked on their rebuild in the 2007 offseason, they did so at an interesting time.
The team had made the playoffs in four of the past five seasons and were coming off an inspired, though unlikely, run to the playoffs the year prior. But sometimes good can be the enemy of great, and scratching their way to first-round exits was not appealing to the Islanders’ relatively new brass, headlined by General Manager Garth Snow.
Snow knew that to develop a contender, the Islanders had to reset their foundation. Where the teams of the early 2000’s were keyed by free agents, trades and transplants, the Islanders committed to creating a contender from within. That meant building through the draft — much like the dynasty Islanders of the glory day ‘80s — going young and establishing a new core and culture. There would be short-term pain, as is the case with most rebuilds, but the Islanders were prepared to weather the storm, adopting a new, long-term focus for the organization.
The first step was restocking the prospect pool after years of trading away top picks, including their first-round pick in 2007. Starting in 2008, some core members of the next generation of Islanders hockey joined the organization. Josh Bailey began his Islanders journey as the ninth-overall pick in 2008, with the rookie playing the first of more than 1,000 games with the franchise the same season. From the moment he arrived, Bailey bought in, and though it may not have been clear at the draft, he became one of the longest-tenured players in team history.
Matt Martin, who would become integral to the team’s identity and the unofficial Mayor of Long Island, was also taken in the 2008 draft. As was Travis Hamonic, a scrappy D-man out of Western Canada whose community work led him to later become the first Islander to win the NHL’s Foundation Player Award.
The big prize came the next summer in John Tavares, the phenom who’d been on the NHL radar since he was 14 years old. Like Bailey, Tavares would suit up for the team immediately, the proton at the center of the Islanders’ young nucleus.
Tavares was the marquee name on draft day in 2009, but a pair of future mainstays were plucked in the latter rounds. Casey Cizikas, a fourth-round pick, brought his relentless work ethic and infectious energy to the organization. He’d later go on to play with Martin and Cal Clutterbuck and form the team’s Identity Line, a trio renowned around the NHL for their battering ram mentality. The Islanders made another deft pick in the sixth round, selecting future 40-goal scorer and captain Anders Lee. A gifted athlete, Lee had the option of pursuing college hockey or football, but where other teams saw a potential wrench in their draft plan, the Islanders saw a reinforcing rod for their burgeoning foundation.
More key pieces were added through the draft every year. Brock Nelson joined the organization as a first-rounder in the 2010 draft, while a pair of blueliners in Scott Mayfield and Adam Pelech were picked in the 2011 and 2012 drafts, respectively. These moves didn’t pay off right away, but Nelson, Mayfield, and Pelech would all go on to play big roles in the deep runs at the end of the decade.
Even the draft picks who didn’t wind up becoming long-term Islanders played a role in the rebuild. Nino Niederreiter, the fifth-overall pick in 2010, was later traded for Clutterbuck, the physical forward with a trademark mustache who’d embody the Islanders’ blue-collar attitude alongside Martin and Cizikas. Ryan Strome, the fifth-overall pick in 2011, found early success with the Islanders, but was later traded for Jordan Eberle, while Griffin Reinhart, the fourth-overall pick in 2012, was traded for the pick that became Mathew Barzal.
Despite fresh faces, the organization’s youth movement did not translate to success overnight. Snow signed key veterans, like Doug Weight, to help shepherd his new young nucleus. Weight, a Stanley Cup champion with over 1,000 points on his resume, served as a mentor, as well as a landlord, to a young Tavares, and a captain to a young team from 2009-11. Weight’s signing in 2008 kicked off an 11-year stint with the organization as a player, captain, advisor, assistant GM, assistant coach, and head coach.
Mark Streit was another impactful veteran for the young group, as the Swiss defenseman – and captain from 2011-13 – signed with the Islanders in the prime of his career, during a period where free agents actively avoided Long Island. Streit’s steady demeanor rubbed off on young players like Bailey, Tavares, Frans Nielsen, and Kyle Okposo, who all played with a quiet, but burning intensity.
Nielsen and Okposo were also key components of the rebuild, even if they arrived on the Island before it officially began. Nielsen, the first Danish player in NHL history, was a terrific two-way center and the Islanders’ shootout ace with a patented backhand move. Okposo, the team’s first-round pick in 2006, gave the Islanders some extra offensive pop, to go along with a solid frame and hard-nosed work ethic. Nielsen played over 600 games with the club while Okposo suited up for more than 500.
The plan was for the young core to grow together and build the Islanders from the ground up. There were growing pains, but after finishing last in the NHL in 2008-09 and earning the right to draft Tavares, the Islanders were back in the playoffs four seasons later, with their young core of Tavares, Nielsen, Okposo, and Bailey leading the charge.
As much as the high draft picks were the focus of the rebuild, Snow also proved adept at finding overlooked talent around the league to add to his stable. Matt Moulson, a ninth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003, scored 30 goals in three straight seasons after being signed by the Islanders in 2009. Moulson became a fan favorite and an unlikely, but capable running mate for Tavares’ early years. PA Parenteau, a free agent, filled out the top line from 2010-12 with Moulson and Tavares.
In 2010, Snow nabbed speedy winger Michael Grabner — Vancouver’s first-round pick in 2006, — off waivers a week before the 2010-11 season started. Grabner was on his third team when he arrived on Long Island, but something clicked for the Austrian, who was a constant breakaway threat and wowed fans with his quick feet. Grabner led the Islanders with 34 goals in his rookie year, finishing third in Calder Trophy voting and wound up staying until 2015.
While the Islanders had plenty of promise up front, they needed a steady hand in net to advance the rebuild. Snow made another nifty and thrifty move, plucking Evgeni Nabokov off waivers in 2011. Nabokov did not report to the team at first, but yielded dividends once he did, as the wily Russian backstopped the team to the playoffs in 2013.
There were plenty of other faces mixed in, like Zenon Konopka, Trevor Gillies, and Michael Haley, who protected the young Isles prospects as they found their footing in the NHL. The scrappy new identity was more than fine for Islanders fans, who were pleased to see pieces of the rebuild coming together – as well as the team’s return to their original colors and uniform. They enjoyed the team’s focus on playing an up-tempo style, coined as “overspeed” from Head Coach Scott Gordon. Gordon didn’t get to see the rebuild through, giving way to Bridgeport Sound Tigers Head Coach Jack Capuano in 2010. Capuano was second in games coached (483) and wins (227) when his tenure ended.
The Islanders’ rebuild road was long, but represented the necessary patience to develop players, commitment to changing a transient culture, and discipline to see the job through. After all, the players taken during the rebuild would be key to the Islanders renaissance.