Building a champion
By Stan Fischler and zach weinstock
Opening camp for the 1975-76 season, Al Arbour bubbled with promise. "We achieved a lot last spring," the third-year coach proclaimed, "and we'll do even better as we go along."
Everyone agreed that the Isles had a tough act to follow – their own. But the roster was only getting stronger.
For instance, in training camp a teenage center named Bryan Trottier began turning heads.
The native of Val Marie, Saskatchewan had starred in the Canadian Junior ranks for the Swift Current Broncos before Bill Torrey made him the team's second round pick in the 1974 Draft, after nabbing Clark Gillies in round one.
That's two Hall-of-Fame forwards in an hour.
Gillies had already delivered with 25 goals and fists of fury as a rookie in 1974-75. Now it was his fellow Saskatchewanian's turn for a dazzling first impression.
Trottier arrived in Nassau at age 19 with impeccable credentials. Over a period of 68 games he totaled 45 goals and 99 assists in 1974-75 for the Broncos.
In only his second NHL game, the peach-faced center, who looked like he had just graduated from elementary school, tallied a hat trick and a pair of assists.
"Bryan handles the puck like he owns it," gushed Denis Potvin. "I could see him winning rookie of the year."
A farm kid whose ancestry included Native Canadian – Cree, Chippewa – Trots easily won over the veterans with his low-key demeanor. "His head is in the right place," said Chico Resch.
The Islanders reached the post-season for the second-straight year, this time with a franchise-best record of 42-21-17.
Gillies scored 34 goals while his linemate Billy Harris illuminated 32 red lights. And of course, Trottier ran away with the Calder Trophy in a landslide.
Potvin was already reaching superstar status. With 31 goals he etched his name beside that of the great Bobby Orr as only the second defenseman to eclipse 30 in a season. Potvin took home his first Norris Trophy as top blue liner and finished second in voting for league MVP.
Potvin's ascent confirmed Torrey's wisdom of building through the draft. The team finished second to the Flyers in the Patrick Division and opened the playoffs by knocking off Vancouver, setting up a series with the heavily favored Sabres, a Cup finalist the previous spring.
After dropping the first pair of games in Buffalo, the Islanders embarked on yet another of their trademark shocking playoff win streaks, this time ignited by Trottier, who set up the winning goal late in a 5-3 Game Three decision that put his club right back into the fray.
The Isles seized the momentum with a 4-2 triumph in Game Four and a 4-3 comeback classic in Game Five, capped by Bert Marshall's first goal all season with 19 seconds remaining.
Arbour's club wrapped up the series back in Nassau with a Gillies third-period game-winner and a superb late game defensive effort by Trottier, ragging the puck under heavy pursuit by the Sabres to preserve the 3-2 win.
But even Trottier's magic wasn't enough to defeat the Canadiens in the next round. The Habs were en route to their first of four consecutive Stanley Cups and simply could not be contained. Radar's redoubtable outfit lost three times by a single goal and played the mighty Montrealers better than anyone else. The 5-2 Game Four Coliseum drubbing by the Isles was the only game the eventual champs would drop in the entire post-season.
In 1976-77, the team improved to 47-21-12 and closed the gap between themselves and the Big Bad Flyers, perennial lords of the Patrick Division.
At the beginning of February 1977, Ed Westfall approached Torrey and graciously relinquished his captaincy. "I felt a younger team like ours needed a younger captain," Eddie explained. The youngster Torrey selected as the second captain in Islanders history was Clark Gillies, who was surprised to be picked for the top leadership role. In recognition of his selflessness and foresight, Westfall became the first-ever Islander recipient of the prestigious Bill Masterton Trophy.
The franchise was on the upswing, and the 1977 playoffs produced familiar results. The Isles defeated the Chicago Blackhawks and swept past the Sabres in four, marking eight-straight playoff wins over Buffalo and a third consecutive trip to the conference finals, where they once again bowed to the Canadiens – this time in six. For the second year in a row, Montreal breezed through the playoffs without losing a game, except to the Islanders. This time the Isles beat them twice and barely lost the curtain-closer 2-1 at the Coliseum. Winning goalie Ken Dryden toasted the Islanders with five little words that carried big meaning: "They're a fine hockey club."
The future was bright for the Islanders in virtually every area but one. They needed one more scorer.
When it came to amassing talent, selecting amateurs had always been Torrey's recipe of choice. But with high positioning in the standings came low positioning at the draft. In 1977, the Islanders were slotted 15th overall out of 18 teams. It would take a combination of Lady Luck and Sir Smarts to snare arguably the greatest natural goal scorer of all-time.
Thankfully a dozen non-Islanders scouts suffered from the misapprehension that Mike Bossy wasn't tough enough. Torrey, Arbour and Director of Scouting Jim Devallano saw things differently and jumped on the lanky right-handed Quebec League sniper.
Torrey asked the new kid what he thought he could do for the Islanders. "I'm going to score 50 goals for you," Bossy assured, without blinking.
The GM chuckled and signed the prodigy to a $50,000 contract. In return, Bossy became both the first rookie and the first Islander to hit the 50-goal mark. His total – 53.
"He was the best pure goal-scorer I had ever seen," claimed Devellano. "Boss never teed up his shots; just swoosh and the puck was in the net."
Bossy slid onto a line with Trottier and Gillies and immediately began lighting lamps. In one stretch of that memorable freshman season, Bossy tallied 18 goals in 14 games. He had 12 multiple goal games on the season, becoming the third Islander in five years to take home the Calder Trophy.
Yet Bossy was not the only Islander rookie making major contributions. Former 1974 14th round selection Stefan Persson came over from Sweden and provided the missing link on the power play, working the point with Potvin. The rest of the defense jelled around Potvin and the goaltending tandem of Resch and Bill Smith.
The Islanders’ high command viewed the 1977-78 season as the club's coming-out party. With a record of 48-17-15, they finished third overall in the NHL standings and claimed their first Patrick Division title over long-time bugaboo Philadelphia.
For the first time, the franchise was being discussed in the same breath as such elite clubs as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Canadiens.
The Isles received a bye in the first playoff round. Their quarter-final foe would be the Toronto Maple Leafs. The crusade began optimistically enough, with a pair of wins in Uniondale, including a Bossy slam dunk overtime winner in Game Two.
One factor, however, was troubling Arbour and his staff. Coach Roger Neilson's Leafs were employing a physical style that seemed to be troubling the Islanders, and it showed at Maple Leaf Gardens, where Toronto rebounded for two victories.
Bobby Nystrom temporarily stopped the bleeding with the overtime winner in Game Five, but the killer instinct was missing in the possible clincher.
Bossy had to be removed from Game Six on a stretcher after being crushed by Jerry Butler. If that wasn't troubling enough, the Leafs emerged with a 5-2 edge.
Game Seven on Hempstead Turnpike had the Islanders as favorites, especially after Potvin thrust his club into an early lead. But the Leafs fought back, sending the rubber match to sudden death.
The end came depressingly quickly. With only 4:13 elapsed in the extra session, Lanny McDonald walked in alone on Resch and beat him low on the glove side, leaving the capacity crowd in shock.
For the first time in club history, the consummate upset-ors had become the upset-ees. The tables had turned, and it did not feel good.
"I've got work to do," Torrey confessed in his post-mortem.
Work would be done off the ice as well, as John O. Pickett replaced Roy Boe as owner. Pickett and Torrey blended their brains and produced new capital. Torrey and Devellano huddled and identified the team needed more toughness. With an eye on that focus, they signed rugged winger John Tonelli.
Torrey's prize off-season acquisition cut his puck teeth starring for the WHA's Houston Aeros, where he played on a line with the immortal Gordie Howe.
Adding Tonelli's grit to a lineup already brimming with skill, discipline and finesse, Arbour's army enjoyed a milestone regular season in 1978-79. The Isles led the NHL in goals with 358, thanks in large part to the top line of Gillies, Bossy and Trottier, duly nicknamed and forever known as "Trio Grande." Trottier was awarded the Hart Trophy as league MVP, while Potvin took home his third Norris Trophy as top defenseman. Most importantly, with a record of 51-15-14, the Islanders finished tops in the entire league for the first time ever and cruised past the Blackhawks in the quarter-finals, allowing only three goals in four games.
It was back to the semis for the fourth time in five years, with only the rival Rangers standing between the Islanders and their first trip to the finals.
Relations between the clubs were testy. A hard clean hit during the regular season by Potvin resulted in a broken ankle for Ulf Nilsson, and many Rangers fans argued it was a cheap shot. Potvin would never hear the end of it for the rest of the game, the season, and his career.
Needless to say, hard feelings persisted when the Blueshirts and Islanders met in the 1979 semi-finals. Rangers coach Fred Shero implemented a strategy of hounding the Isles’ top players, and it worked well. The series was tied at 2-2, yet the whole thing didn’t feel right.
The Rangers would win the next two, sealing the Islanders’ fate. For the second straight year, spring had sprung a devastating – and shocking - disappointment.
"But there was never any interference or panic from ownership," recalled Devellano. "We just needed to add a small piece or two to the puzzle."