2009–10 New York Islanders season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2009–10
Year:	2009
Team:	New York Islanders
Conference:	Eastern
Conferencerank:	13th
Division:	Atlantic
Divisionrank:	5th
Record:	34–37–11
Homerecord:	23–14–4
Roadrecord:	11–23–7
Goalsfor:	222
Goalsagainst:	264
Generalmanager:	Garth Snow
Coach:	Scott Gordon
Captain:	Doug Weight
Altcaptain:	Kyle Okposo Richard Park Mark Streit Brendan Witt (Oct.–Jan.)
Arena:	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Attendance:	12,725 (78.4% capacity)
Goalsleader:	Matt Moulson (30)
Assistsleader:	Mark Streit (38)
Pointsleader:	John Tavares (54)
Plusminusleader:	Josh Bailey (+5)
Pimleader:	Tim Jackman (98)
Winsleader:	Dwayne Roloson (23)
Gaaleader:	Dwayne Roloson (3.00)

The 2009–10 New York Islanders season was the 38th season in the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise's history.^[1] Following the trade of Bill Guerin during the 2008–09 season, the Islanders named center Doug Weight the team's new captain. Kyle Okposo, Richard Park, Mark Streit and Brendan Witt served as the team's alternate captains.^[2] The year opened with the 2009 NHL Entry Draft on June 26–27, with the Islanders using their first selection in the draft to select John Tavares.^[3]

Preseason

Before the regular season began, the New York Islanders played a series of exhibition games. Only one game was held at Nassau Coliseum, in which the Islanders lost to the New Jersey Devils 2–4.^[4] Their first exhibition game was held on September 14, when the Islanders were defeated 2–1 by the Vancouver Canucks. The Islanders played two games at the place they held their training camp, the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They won the two games held there, defeating the Flames on September 19 and the Oilers on September 20. As previously expected, the Islanders played one game in the new Sprint Center in Kansas City against the Los Angeles Kings, in which the Islanders lost 2–4. The team's final exhibition game was on September 29 against the Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, where they again lost 2–4.^[5]

Forward Doug Weight is named team captain.

2009 Preseason Game Log
September: 2-4-1 (Home: 0-1-0; Road: 0-1-1; Neutral 2-2-0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 September 14 (in Terrace, BC) NY Islanders 1-2 Vancouver Canucks Nathan Lawson (0-1-0) 1,200 0–1–0 0 2 September 16 NY Islanders 2-3 Edmonton Oilers Nathan Lawson (0-2-0) 16,386 0–2–0 0 3 September 17 NY Islanders 4-5 Calgary Flames SO Kevin Poulin (0-0-1) 19,289 0–2–1 1 4 September 19 (in Saskatoon, SK) Calgary Flames 2-4 NY Islanders Kevin Poulin (1-0-1) 12,833 1–2–1 3 5 September 20 (in Saskatoon, SK) Edmonton Oilers 1-3 NY Islanders Martin Biron (1-0-0) 12,842 2–2–1 5 6 September 22 (in Kansas City, Missouri) NY Islanders 2-4 Los Angeles Kings Nathan Lawson (0-3-0) 9,792 2–3–1 5 7 September 23 New Jersey Devils 4-2 NY Islanders Martin Biron (1-1-0) 8,256 2–4–1 5 8 September 29 NY Islanders 2-4 New Jersey Devils Dwayne Roloson (0-1-0) 2–5–1 5
Legend:

Regular season

On July 15, 2009, the Islanders released their regular season schedule, in which the Islanders play a regular amount of 82 games, 41 home and 41 away. The team's first game was against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, on October 3, 2009, at Nassau Coliseum, in which the Islanders lost in a shootout, 4–3.^[6]

Conference standings

Schedule and results

2009–10 Game Log
October: 4-4-5 (Home: 3–2–2; Road: 1-2–3) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 October 3 4-3 SO 16,234 0–0–1 1 2 October 8 2-3 OT 18,075 0–0–2 2 3 October 10 3-4 SO 17,113 0–0–3 3 4 October 12 2-1 12,145 0–1–3 3 5 October 16 3-6 18,690 0–2–3 3 6 October 17 4-1 11,287 0–3–3 3 7 October 21 3-4 SO 9,122 1–3–3 5 8 October 22 1-5 21,273 1–4–3 5 9 October 24 3-2 OT 11,541 1–4–4 6 10 October 26 2-3 OT 21,273 1–4–5 7 11 October 28 1-3 15,213 2–4–5 9 12 October 30 4-3 OT 18,277 3–4–5 11 13 October 31 0-5 8,889 4–4–5 13
November: 6-6-2 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 3-5–2) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 14 November 2 1-3 10,846 5–4–5 15 15 November 4 0-3 17,626 5–5–5 15 16 November 6 1-2 14,109 5–6–5 15 17 November 7 3-6 14,119 6–6–5 17 18 November 11 4-5 SO Dwayne Roloson 18,277 6–6–6 18 19 November 13 4-3 OT 14,163 7–6–6 20 20 November 14 4-5 SO 15,921 7–6–7 21 21 November 16 4-1 16,865 8–6–7 23 22 November 20 2-3 18,114 8–7–7 23 23 November 21 1-4 19,150 8–8–7 23 24 November 23 4-3 OT 19,263 9–8–7 25 25 November 25 2-1 12,687 9–9–7 25 26 November 27 2-3 15,262 10–9–7 27 27 November 28 1-6 16,961 10–10–7 27
December: 6-8-1 (Home: 3-5-0; Road: 3-3-1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 28 December 3 4-1 11,704 11–10–7 29 29 December 5 0-4 13,577 11–11–7 29 30 December 8 2-6 19,330 11–12–7 29 31 December 9 2-3 19,102 11–13–7 29 32 December 12 2-3 OT 13,744 12–13–7 31 33 December 14 7-1 10,489 12–14–7 31 34 December 16 2-1 18,200 13–14–7 33 35 December 17 5-2 15,137 13–15–7 33 36 December 19 3-0 7,842 13–16–7 33 37 December 21 4-2 10,864 13–17–7 33 38 December 23 1-3 10,865 14–17–7 35 39 December 26 3-2 OT 18,200 15–17–7 37 40 December 27 2-1 12,819 15–18–7 37 41 December 29 1-2 SO 12,192 16–18–7 39 42 December 31 2-3 SO 16,743 16–18–8 40
January: 7-7-0 (Home: 5-2-0; Road: 2-5-0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 43 January 2 5-6 SO 12,824 17–18–8 42 44 January 6 3-2 13,898 18–18–8 44 45 January 8 3-4 17,430 18–19–8 44 46 January 9 5-4 SO 11,454 19–19–8 46 47 January 12 0-6 12,254 20–19–8 48 48 January 16 2-3 SO 13,635 21–19–8 50 49 January 18 0-4 16,250 22–19–8 52 50 January 19 4-6 16,981 22–20–8 52 51 January 21 1-2 SO 12,138 23–20–8 54 52 January 23 4-2 16,250 23–21–8 54 53 January 26 7-2 12,549 23–22–8 54 54 January 28 1-4 15,473 23–23–8 54 55 January 30 1-2 19,787 23–24–8 54 56 January 31 0-2 16,023 23–25–8 54
February: 2-4-0 (Home: 2-2-0; Road: 0-2-0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 57 February 4 2-5 13,891 23–26–8 54 58 February 6 3-1 12,709 23–27–8 54 59 February 9 3-4 SO 11,487 24–27–8 56 60 February 10 1-3 16,980 24–28–8 56 61 February 13 4-5 12,237 25–28–8 58 62 February 14 4-3 11,297 25–29–8 58
March: 6-6-2 (Home: 4-2-1; Road: 2-4-1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 63 March 2 3-5 13,486 26–29–8 60 64 March 4 3-6 14,776 26–30–8 60 65 March 6 3-2 14,587 26–31–8 60 66 March 9 2-3 19,687 26–32–8 60 67 March 11 2-1 SO 11.335 26–32–9 61 68 March 13 2-4 15,583 27–32–9 63 69 March 14 1-4 12,804 28–32–9 65 70 March 16 5-2 18,810 29–32–9 67 71 March 19 4-5 OT 14,665 29–32–10 68 72 March 20 0-1 18,118 29–33–10 68 73 March 24 0-5 18,200 29–34–10 68 74 March 25 2-3 12,817 30–34–10 70 75 March 27 4-3 OT 16,972 31–34–10 72 76 March 30 4-3 16,250 31–35–10 72
April: 3-2-1 (Home: 3-0-1; Road: 0-2-0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 77 April 1 4-6 11,823 32–35–10 74 78 April 3 1-4 11,942 33–35–10 76 79 April 6 3-4 SO 10,263 34–35–10 78 80 April 8 3-7 17,132 34–36–10 78 81 April 10 1-7 17,625 34–37–10 78 82 April 11 6-5 OT 16,250 34–37–11 79
Legend:

Playoffs

The Islanders missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Islanders. Stats reflect time with Islanders only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Islanders only.

Awards and records

Awards

Regular Season
Player	Award	Reached
John Tavares^[7]	NHL Second Star of the Week	March 22, 2010

Milestones

Transactions

Before the 2009–10 season got underway, the Islanders were involved in many transactions, and signed and lost some free agents. Their first trade for the season was made at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, where the New York Islanders sent four draft picks to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for two draft picks (including a first round pick that allowed them move up ten spots from a previously acquired pick). The team would make another trade with the Blue Jackets later on in the draft. The Islanders also made a trade with the Minnesota Wild, which allowed them to move up four additional spots (to pick 12th) from the position they were in after their original trade with Columbus. They wound up using the pick to draft Calvin de Haan. In the third round, the Islanders traded a third round pick in the 2010 draft for the 62nd pick in the current draft. On June 30, 2009, the Islanders traded Ben Walter and a conditional pick in the 2010 draft to the New Jersey Devils for Tony Romano.

The Islanders signed many free agents as well, including veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson on July 1. The following day, the Islanders signed three other players: Scott Munroe, Brett Westgarth and Jeremy Reich. On July 6, the Islanders acquired four minor-league players, and lost two of their own (Chris Lee and Peter Mannino). Yann Danis and Joe Callahan both left the Islanders as well on July 10 and 16, respectively. The Islander last acquired was goaltender Martin Biron, who played the previous season for the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Islanders also signed their first overall draft pick from 2009, John Tavares, to a three-year, entry-level contract on July 15,^[8] and resigned Nate Thompson to a one-year, two-way contract on July 25.^[9]

Trades

Date
June 26, 2009	To Columbus Blue Jackets 1st-round pick (26th overall) in 2009 2nd-round pick (37th overall) in 2009 3rd-round pick (62nd overall) in 2009 4th-round pick (92nd overall) in 2009	To New York Islanders 1st-round pick (16th overall) in 2009 3rd-round pick (77th overall) in 2009
June 26, 2009	To Minnesota Wild 1st-round pick (16th overall) in 2009 3rd-round pick (77th overall) in 2009 7th-round pick (182nd overall) in 2009	To New York Islanders 1st-round pick (12th overall) in 2009
June 27, 2009	To Columbus Blue Jackets 2nd-round pick (56th overall) in 2009	To New York Islanders 3rd-round pick (62nd overall) in 2009 4th-round pick (92nd overall) in 2009
June 27, 2009	To Phoenix Coyotes 3rd-round pick (91st overall) in 2009	To New York Islanders 3rd-round pick in 2010
June 30, 2009^[10]	To New Jersey Devils Ben Walter Conditional pick in 2012	To New York Islanders Tony Romano
March 1, 2010^[11]	To Columbus Blue Jackets Greg Moore	To New York Islanders Dylan Reese
March 2, 2010^[12]	To Ottawa Senators Andy Sutton	To New York Islanders 2nd-round pick in 2010

Free agents acquired

Player	Former team	Date acquired
		July 1, 2009
		July 2, 2009
		July 2, 2009
		July 2, 2009
		July 6, 2009
		July 6, 2009
		July 6, 2009
		July 6, 2009
		July 22, 2009

Free agents lost

Player	New team	Date lost
		July 6, 2009
		July 6, 2009
		July 10, 2009
		July 16, 2009

Players re-signed

Player	Contract terms	Date signed
	One–year, two–way	July 25, 2009

Draft picks

See main article: List of New York Islanders draft picks. The Islanders held the first pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, to be held in Montreal. On April 14, 2009, it was announced that the Islanders had won the 2009 NHL Draft Lottery and earned the first draft pick for the fourth time in the franchise's history.^[14] Going into the lottery, the Islanders held a 48.2% chance of winning the lottery, due to their coming in last place in the 2008–09 season. In addition to the first pick, the Islanders hold the 26th draft pick during the first round, acquiring it from the San Jose Sharks, and three second-round draft picks. Matt Duchene, Victor Hedman, Evander Kane, Brayden Schenn and John Tavares were the favorites to be drafted by the first five teams. General manager Garth Snow mentioned in an article on the Islanders' official website that Islanders management have scouted each of these players for years. Since the announcement about the Islanders picking first in the draft, their ticket sales department has seen a 300% increase in phone calls and email inquiries over last year at the same date.^{[15] [16] [17]}

During the draft, the Islanders selected center John Tavares as their first pick and also the first pick overall in the draft.^[18] After selecting Tavares, the Islanders made a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets that sent the Islanders picks 26, 37, 62 and 92 (in 2009) to the Blue Jackets in exchange for picks 16 and 77 (in 2009). With this trade, the Islanders had moved up from pick 26 to pick 16 in the first round of the 2009 Draft. Following this, the Islanders made another trade, this time with the Minnesota Wild, giving Minnesota picks 16, 77 and 182 (in 2009) in exchange for pick 12 from Minnesota (in 2009). At this point, the Islanders had moved up from pick 26 to pick 12. With the 12th pick, the Islanders selected Calvin de Haan, a defenceman from the Oshawa Generals.^[19]

Round	Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	Prior team	Prior league
1	1					OHL
1	12					OHL
2	31					SM-liiga
3	62					J20 SuperElit
4	92					OHL
5	122					Russian Hockey First League
6	152					USHS-MN

Farm teams

Bridgeport Sound Tigers

The Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate will remain to be the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the 2009–10 season.

Utah Grizzlies

The Utah Grizzlies remain New York's ECHL affiliate for the 2009–10 season.

Odessa Jackalopes

The Odessa Jackalopes remain New York's Central Hockey League affiliate for the 2009–10 season.

References

• Player stats: Web site: New York Islanders player stats . ESPN . 2009-10-04.
• Game log: Web site: New York Islanders game log . ESPN . 2009-10-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20091022011424/http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/schedule?team=nyi&year=2010. 22 October 2009 . dead.
• Team standings: Web site: 2009–10 NHL standings . ESPN . 2009-10-04.

External links

• 2009–10 New York Islanders season at ESPN
• 2009–10 New York Islanders season at Hockey Reference

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bruins end regular season with convincing win over last-place Islanders . ESPN. 2009-06-18.
2. Web site: Weight named captain. 2009-10-02. 2009-10-03.
3. Web site: Kimelman . Adam . Final order for Entry Draft set . National Hockey League . 2009-06-13 . 2009-06-16.
4. Web site: Islanders 2, Devils 4. 2009-09-29. New York Islanders. 2009-10-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20091003132546/http://islanders.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2009010103. 3 October 2009. dead. dmy-all.
5. Web site: Islanders Release Pre-Season Schedule . 2009-07-20. New York Islanders. 2009-07-26.
6. Web site: Isles fall in shootout. 2009-10-03. New York Islanders. 2009-10-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20091007053037/http://islanders.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2009020013&navid=DL%7CNYI%7Chome. 2009-10-07. dead.
7. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=522275 Nashville's Pekka Rinne named NHL's first start of week with 4 wins, 2 shutouts
8. Web site: Islanders sign Tavares . 2009-07-15. National Hockey League. 2009-07-25.
9. Web site: Isles ink Thompson to two-way contract . 2009-07-25. National Hockey League. 2009-07-25.
10. http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=432330&page=NewsPage&service=page Islanders Trade For Smithtown's Romano
11. http://bluejackets.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=519513 Blue Jackets Acquire Center Greg Moore from NY Islanders in Exchange for Defenseman Dylan Reese
12. http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=519622 SUTTON TRADED TO OTTAWA
13. http://lightning.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=514466 Lightning Claim C Nate Thompson off waivers from Islanders
14. Web site: More news ISLES WIN LOTTERY; GET NO. 1 PICK . 2009-04-14. New York Islanders. 2009-06-18.
15. Web site: Islanders win 2009 Scotiabank/NHL Draft Lottery . Compton. Brian. 2009-04-14. NHL.com. 2009-06-18.
16. Web site: With The No. 1 Pick, the Isles Select ... . Topel. Brett. 2009-06-08. New York Islanders. 2009-06-18.
17. Web site: More news Draft Lottery Boosts Business For Isles . 2009-05-01. New York Islanders. 2009-06-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20090514044455/http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=421065&page=NewsPage&service=page. 14 May 2009 . live.
18. Web site: Isles take Tavares with No. 1 pick. 2009-06-27. New York Islanders. 2009-06-27.
19. Web site: Teams wheel and deal picks in busy first round . 2009-06-26. National Hockey League. 2009-06-27.