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The Greatest New York Islanders of All Time

All-time greats by position · era-adjusted

Updated 2026-07-09

The greatest New York Islanders of all time — the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders who defined the franchise. Each is ranked by their finest era-adjusted season, weighted by how long they anchored the roster, so a dominant year from any era is measured fairly.

Top forwards

  1. Bryan Trottier Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1978 · 51G 94A 145P · +82 · 76 GP
    100Peak
  2. Mike Bossy Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1981 · 66G 85A 151P · +71 · 80 GP
    92Peak
  3. Clark Gillies Left Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1978 · 38G 61A 99P · +62 · 75 GP
    72Peak
  4. Brent Sutter Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1984 · 48G 68A 116P · +48 · 72 GP
    70Peak
  5. John Tonelli Left Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1984 · 43G 59A 102P · +50 · 80 GP
    64Peak
  6. Ziggy Palffy Right Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 1996 · 49G 43A 92P · +22 · 80 GP
    64Peak
  7. John Tavares Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2014 · 38G 48A 86P · +5 · 82 GP
    58Peak
  8. Pierre Turgeon Center
    1 season sampled · peak 1992 · 57G 73A 130P · -1 · 83 GP
    61Peak
  9. Pat LaFontaine Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1989 · 60G 57A 116P · -14 · 74 GP
    55Peak
  10. Kyle Okposo Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2013 · 31G 49A 80P · -10 · 71 GP
    51Peak
  11. Bob Bourne Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1980 · 37G 43A 80P · +36 · 78 GP
    50Peak
  12. Mathew Barzal Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2017 · 22G 63A 85P · +1 · 82 GP
    49Peak

On defense

  1. Denis Potvin Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1978 · 35G 79A 113P · +80 · 73 GP
    85Peak
  2. Stefan Persson Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1978 · 11G 59A 69P · +40 · 78 GP
    47Peak
  3. Noah Dobson Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 2023 · 10G 62A 73P · +12 · 79 GP
    43Peak
  4. Vladimir Malakhov Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1993 · 11G 51A 62P · +31 · 76 GP
    43Peak
  5. Mark Streit Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2008 · 18G 44A 62P · +6 · 74 GP
    39Peak
  6. Jean Potvin Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1975 · 18G 58A 76P · +17 · 78 GP
    42Peak
  7. Adrian Aucoin Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 2003 · 13G 31A 45P · +29 · 81 GP
    40Peak
  8. Matthew Schaefer Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 2025 · 23G 36A 59P · +13 · 82 GP
    39Peak

In goal

  1. Glenn Resch Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1975 · 23W · 2.08 GAA · .928 SV% · 7 SO
    84Peak
  2. Roland Melanson Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1982 · 24W · 2.66 GAA · .909 SV% · 1 SO
    81Peak
  3. Kelly Hrudey Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1985 · 19W · 3.22 GAA · .906 SV% · 1 SO
    79Peak
  4. Billy Smith Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1982 · 18W · 2.87 GAA · .906 SV% · 1 SO
    78Peak
How this ranks: a player’s best season with the New York Islanders is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then nudged up for how many standout seasons they gave the club — rewarding peak brilliance and franchise tenure together.

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Frequently asked questions

Who is the greatest New York Islanders player of all time?
By All-Time Hockey's era-adjusted peak-season ranking, Bryan Trottier leads the New York Islanders all-time greats; the top three overall are Bryan Trottier, Glenn Resch, Mike Bossy. Each player is scored on his finest season relative to the league around him.
Who is the best New York Islanders goaltender of all time?
Glenn Resch ranks as the top New York Islanders goaltender by peak era-adjusted season, weighted by win volume so durable starters outrank one-year standouts.
How are the all-time New York Islanders rankings calculated?
Each player's best season with the New York Islanders is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then weighted by how many standout seasons he gave the club. Data spans the 1960s to today.

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