New York Islanders: Life begins in Brooklyn

The New York Islanders have closed the doors of the Nassau Coliseum and will begin their new journey in Brooklyn.

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It was a magnificent run at the Nassau Coliseum with a dynasty and four Stanley Cups, but now the Islanders will be calling the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn their new home. On Wednesday night, the Islanders held their blue and white scrimmage in front of nearly 6,311 fans in Brooklyn.

“There has been a lot of anticipation over the last couple years, and now we’re just weeks away,” Islanders general manager Garth Snow said to Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. “As you can you can see walking through the concourse, and all the Islander jerseys on the street, our fans have been tremendous.”

It is going to be a huge adjustment for Islanders fans, but it will also be a big adjustment for the up-and-coming Islanders.

“I think it’ll be an adjustment,” Snow said to Cyrgalis, “but hockey players, once they get into a routine, probably like any other professional athletes, I think it’ll be an easy transition.”

Last season, the Islanders closed out the Coliseum with a very good season. Despite a semi-collapse towards the end of the season, the Islanders were able to make the playoffs and push the Washington Capitals to seven games before being eliminated.

During various points of the regular season, the Islanders showed that they belong as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. Last offseason, Snow was very busy making trades and signing players to help propel the Islanders into the playoffs. This offseason, things have been rather quiet for the Islanders, as Snow believes his team is pretty set.

“Barring injury, I think we’ll be better,” Snow said to Cyrgalis. “There are a lot of good teams in our division and our conference that maybe had a hiccup here or there because they ran into injury trouble. But we feel that we’ve built a team in the draft now that can compete with any team on any given night.”

The Islanders are a very young team, making the experience they gained by reaching the playoffs last season very important. New York still has a little more than $9 million to spend, which is certainly enough money to add an impact player.

“If a deal is going to help us be better, we’ll do it,” Snow said to Cyrgalis. “I think we’ve proven that the last couple years especially. Whether it’s a free-agent signing, whether it’s trading for players, bringing up young players that have cut their teeth in the AHL, we’ll look at any avenue of getting better.”

The Islanders are very close to once again being in contention for a Stanley Cup, and if they raise a banner in the near future, it will be happening in Brooklyn.

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