LEGACY OF THE EXPANSION ISLANDERS:
The expansion Islanders took their lumps in the 1972-73 season, going 12-60-6 (30 points), allowing 347 goals – nearly 100 more than the league average and 27 more than the previous record – and finishing last in the NHL. While the Flames got off to a better start with a 25-38-15 record (65 points), the Islanders secured the first-overall pick in the 1973 Amateur Draft and selected Denis Potvin, a move that paid off with tremendous dividends.
And while the expansion roster wasn’t filled with marquee names or long Islanders tenures, some of the players Bill Torrey selected were pieces of trades that brought in key pieces of the dynasty teams.
Bart Crashley, the first skater taken in the draft (5th overall), and the rights to Larry Hornung, were traded to Kansas City in 1974 for Bob Bourne. Bourne won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders and is 10th all-time in team scoring with 542 points (238G, 304A).
Terry Crisp, selected 19th overall from the St. Louis Blues, was traded for Jean Potvin in 1973. Potvin was eventually dealt in 1978 with JP Parise in a trade that included Wayne Merrick, who won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders. Potvin re-signed with the Islanders as a free agent in 1979 and played two more seasons.
Brian Spencer, drafted 17th overall from the Toronto Maple Leafs, was traded in 1974 for Doug Rombough. Rombough was then part of the deal that brought in JP Parise, who scored the series-clinching goal in the Islanders’ first playoff series win over the Rangers in 1975. Parise was later part of the deal that brought in Merrick.
