The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, and UBS Arena. They are one of three franchises in the New York metropolitan area, along with the New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers, and their fanbase resides primarily on Long Island. In the fall of 1972, the emerging World Hockey Association (WHA) planned to place its New York team, the New York Raiders, in Nassau County’s brand-new Nassau Veterans Memorial Stadium. County officials did not consider the WHA a major league and wanted to keep the Raiders out. William Shea, who had helped bring Major League Baseball’s New York Mets to the area a decade earlier, was enlisted to bring an NHL team to Long Island. Although Shea had previously worked with upstart rival leagues including the aborted Continental League (baseball), the American Football League, and the American Basketball Association, his ultimate goal in these efforts had always been to try to persuade the established leagues to grant second franchises to New York as had been the case with the Mets (and also the New York Jets (NFL) and New York Nets (NBA), as a result of those teams’ leagues merging with their established rivals)
photo credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Islanders
In contrast, Shea decided there was no need to work with the WHA since unlike the initial results of his previous approaches to established leagues in the other major sports, Shea immediately found NHL president Clarence Campbell to be receptive to adding a second team in New York. Nevertheless, the Islanders’ bid faced opposition from the New York Rangers who did not want additional competition in the New York area. Eventually, Campbell and Shea persuaded the Rangers’ owners, Madison Square Garden, to reconsider. Rangers’ president Bill Jennings weighed the pros and cons. Another local NHL team would be compelled to compensate the Rangers for sharing the New York area. On the other hand, a WHA team would owe the Rangers nothing unless it was included in a potential NHL-WHA merger, a prospect to which both Campbell and Shea were adamantly opposed. Finally, consenting to the establishment of an NHL franchise in suburban Nassau County would help to ensure the vast majority of the Rangers fanbase within New York City proper would continue to support the older franchise, and reduce the prospect of a rival league eventually establishing a team and fanbase there.
Despite expanding to 14 teams just two years prior, the NHL awarded a Long Island-based franchise to clothing manufacturer Roy Boe, owner of the American Basketball Association’s New York Nets, on November 8, 1971. (https://books.google.com/books?id=no8-Q-ZE1z0C) The terms included a $6 million ($41.98 million in 2022 dollars) franchise fee plus a $5 million ($34.98 million in 2022 dollars) territorial fee to the Rangers. An expansion franchise was also given to Atlanta (the Flames) to keep the schedule balanced and to prevent the WHA from entering the growing market at the newly built Omni Coliseum.
The New York Islanders name was unveiled by the franchise on February 15, 1972, at a press conference held across the street from Roosevelt Raceway (https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/16/archives/li-hockey-club-hires-exoakland-aide.html) at a restaurant owned by Burt Bacharach. Many expected it to use the “Long Island Ducks”, after the Eastern Hockey League team that played there from 1959 to 1973. The team was soon named the “Isles” by the local newspapers. The Islander's arrival effectively doomed the Raiders, who played in Madison Square Garden under difficult lease terms and were forced to move to Cherry Hill, New Jersey in the middle of their second season (https://web.archive.org/web/20150419111503/http://www.whahockey.com/raiders.html).
Former California Golden Seals executive vice president Bill Torrey was named as the team’s general manager at the same press conference as the franchise’s name unveiling (https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/16/archives/li-hockey-club-hires-exoakland-aide.html). The Islanders secured veteran forward Ed Westfall, defensemen Gerry Hart, and goaltender Billy Smith in the 1972 Expansion Draft, along with junior hockey stars Billy Harris, Lorne Henning, and Bobby Nystrom in the 1972 Amateur Draft. Soon after the draft, Phil Goyette was named as the team’s first head coach, however, he was fired halfway through the season and replaced by Earl Ingarfield and assistant coach Aut Erickson. Unlike most other expansion teams’ general managers, Torrey made few trades for veteran players in the early years, as he was committed to building the team through the draft.
By September 1972, the Islanders were waiting for the Nassau Coliseum to be completed as well as their practice facility “The Royal Ice Rink” in Kings Park. The team was forced to practice as late as October 6th, the day before their first game, at the Rangers practice rink in New Hyde Park (https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/07/archives/islanders-make-debut-tonight-in-li-rink-rangers-at-wings.html).
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