Once upon a time lived a fisherman. Legend has it he forgot to change the light bulb in the lighthouse and didn’t last very long. Save for his recent cameo on a New York Islanders practice sweater, Long John Silver had to walk the plank of the Jolly Roger, after lasting from 1995-97. Wins were hard to come by in that era and teal Gorton uniforms were hardly a winning ensemble.
There were however some memorable players, who wore those not so memorable duds. Time to dig out the old SportsChannel tapes and take a trip down memory lane.
“@NYIslanders: Here it is! @91Tavares models tonight's #Fisherman warmup jerseys on the ice. #Isles pic.twitter.com/M1cF3b2a8L” #fishsticks
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 3, 2015
Zigmund “Ziggy” Palffy (RW):
Ziggy was always a thrill to watch, even if the Isles weren’t. The “pocket-Jagr,” Palffy came up rocking the long locks and even number 68. Yet, he didn’t seem to mind the fish sticks, along with a change to number 16. From 1995 to 1998, Palffy posted three (43, 48, 45) consecutive seasons of 40 plus goals.
Travis Green (C):
In a chaotic time, Green was a model of consistency for the Isles. Coming up through the system with the AHL Capital District Islanders, Green registered a pair (25, 23) of 20 plus goal campaigns in teal.
Marty McInnis (LW):
Between 1995-96 and 1996-97, McInnis, the former CD Islander, netted a combined 32 goals for New York. Although his best season on the Island was likely with the original jersey in 1993-94, the fish sticks didn’t phase McInnis.
Scott Lachance (D):
A steady presence on the blue line on Long Island was Lachance. Lachance provided great leadership and played some tough and important minutes for the Isles.
Kenny Jonsson (D):
Another favorite of mine to watch, Jonsson persevered through injuries, bad teams and those uniforms and stuck around long enough to help guide the Isles back to the postseason. For what the stat is worth, Jonsson was a plus ten, over 81 games for a New York team that only won 29 games in 1996-97.
Tommy Salo (G):
There were times Tommy Salo could’ve used a fisherman’s raincoat with all the pucks pouring down on him. In any event, in 1996-97, Salo won 20 games, recording a goals against average of 2.82 and a save percentage of .904.
“Green registered a pair (25, 23) of 20 plus goal campaigns in teal.” wheres the teal?