# 2005–06 New York Islanders season

The 2005–06 New York Islanders season was the 34th season in the franchise's history. On March 14, 2006, the Islanders trailed the Montreal Canadiens by five points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but won only five of their final 18 games to finish 12th in the East. Their 12th place finish meant that, for the first time since the 2000–01 season, the team would not qualify for the playoffs.

## Offseason

Forward Alexei Yashin was named team captain, replacing the traded Michael Peca.

## Regular season

After having lost eight of their previous nine games, the Islanders fired head coach Steve Stirling on January 12 and replaced him on an interim basis with assistant coach Brad Shaw. It was also announced that general manager Mike Milbury would step away from that position once a successor was hired.
* March 4, 2006 - The Islanders held a special ceremony before the game commemorating the 25th anniversary of the team's first Stanley Cup victory. The Islanders coincidentally played the Flyers, the team that they faced back in 1980 and defeated them that night by a score of 4-2.

### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 242 | 229 | 101 |
| 2 | 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 267 | 259 | 101 |
| 3 | 6 | New York Rangers | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 257 | 215 | 100 |
| 4 | 12 | New York Islanders | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 230 | 278 | 78 |
| 5 | 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 22 | 46 | 14 | 244 | 316 | 58 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 3 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 242 | 229 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 242 | 239 | 110 |
| 5 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 267 | 259 | 101 |
| 6 | X- New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 257 | 215 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 8 | X- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 230 | 278 | 78 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 22 | 46 | 14 | 244 | 316 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2005–06 regular season :
October: 5–6–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 5, 20054–6@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)0–1–0Recap
2WOctober 8, 20053–2Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)1–1–0Recap
3LOctober 10, 20051–3Florida Panthers (2005–06)1–2–0Recap
4WOctober 13, 20055–3@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)2–2–0Recap
5LOctober 15, 20051–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)2–3–0Recap
6WOctober 19, 20053–2 SO@ New York Rangers (2005–06)3–3–0Recap
7WOctober 20, 20055–4New York Rangers (2005–06)4–3–0Recap
8LOctober 22, 20053–4@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)4–4–0Recap
9WOctober 25, 20054–3Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)5–4–0Recap
10LOctober 27, 20051–3@ New York Rangers (2005–06)5–5–0Recap
11LOctober 29, 20054–6Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)5–6–0Recap :
November: 7–6–1 (home: 2–3–1; road: 5–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12WNovember 1, 20054–3 OTBoston Bruins (2005–06)6–6–0Recap
13LNovember 3, 20051–5Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)6–7–0Recap
14LNovember 5, 20050–6@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)6–8–0Recap
15WNovember 8, 20054–1@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)7–8–0Recap
16LNovember 10, 20052–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)7–9–0Recap
17WNovember 12, 20055–2Boston Bruins (2005–06)8–9–0Recap
18WNovember 14, 20053–2 SO@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)9–9–0Recap
19WNovember 16, 20057–3@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)10–9–0Recap
20LNovember 17, 20052–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)10–10–0Recap
21WNovember 19, 20055–3@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)11–10–0Recap
22LNovember 23, 20053–4 SOBuffalo Sabres (2005–06)11–10–1Recap
23LNovember 25, 20052–6Ottawa Senators (2005–06)11–11–1Recap
24WNovember 26, 20054–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)12–11–1Recap
25LNovember 29, 20053–4Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)12–12–1Recap :
December: 5–6–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26WDecember 4, 20052–1@ Detroit Red Wings (2005–06)13–12–1Recap
27WDecember 6, 20056–3@ St. Louis Blues (2005–06)14–12–1Recap
28LDecember 8, 20053–4 SO@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06)14–12–2Recap
29WDecember 10, 20053–2 SOEdmonton Oilers (2005–06)15–12–2Recap
30LDecember 13, 20053–4Minnesota Wild (2005–06)15–13–2Recap
31WDecember 17, 20055–4Colorado Avalanche (2005–06)16–13–2Recap
32LDecember 19, 20056–9@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)16–14–2Recap
33WDecember 21, 20054–2New Jersey Devils (2005–06)17–14–2Recap
34LDecember 23, 20052–4Ottawa Senators (2005–06)17–15–2Recap
35LDecember 26, 20053–6@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)17–16–2Recap
36LDecember 28, 20052–6New York Rangers (2005–06)17–17–2Recap
37LDecember 30, 20053–4@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)17–18–2Recap :
January: 6–7–1 (home: 4–4–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
38LJanuary 2, 20061–2Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)17–19–2Recap
39WJanuary 4, 20064–3 OTFlorida Panthers (2005–06)18–19–2Recap
40LJanuary 6, 20061–4@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)18–20–2Recap
41LJanuary 7, 20060–3Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)18–21–2Recap
42LJanuary 10, 20061–2@ Nashville Predators (2005–06)18–22–2Recap
43WJanuary 12, 20063–2Calgary Flames (2005–06)19–22–2Recap
44LJanuary 14, 20061–8Vancouver Canucks (2005–06)19–23–2Recap
45WJanuary 17, 20062–1 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06)20–23–2Recap
46LJanuary 19, 20063–4@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)20–24–2Recap
47LJanuary 21, 20062–3 SO@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)20–24–3Recap
48LJanuary 24, 20060–4New Jersey Devils (2005–06)20–25–3Recap
49WJanuary 26, 20064–3 SOPittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)21–25–3Recap
50WJanuary 28, 20064–3@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)22–25–3Recap
51WJanuary 31, 20065–3Washington Capitals (2005–06)23–25–3Recap :
February: 2–3–1 (home: 0–2–1; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
52LFebruary 2, 20062–5New York Rangers (2005–06)23–26–3Recap
53WFebruary 4, 20065–4 SO@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)24–26–3Recap
54LFebruary 6, 20062–3 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)24–26–4Recap
55LFebruary 8, 20062–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)24–27–4Recap
56WFebruary 11, 20062–1@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)25–27–4Recap
57LFebruary 28, 20063–5Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)25–28–4Recap :
March: 8–7–1 (home: 6–2–0; road: 2–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
58WMarch 2, 20063–2 SONew Jersey Devils (2005–06)26–28–4Recap
59WMarch 4, 20064–2Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)27–28–4Recap
60LMarch 6, 20062–5@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)27–29–4Recap
61WMarch 7, 20062–1 SONew Jersey Devils (2005–06)28–29–4Recap
62WMarch 10, 20062–1 SOToronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)29–29–4Recap
63WMarch 11, 20063–1@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)30–29–4Recap
64WMarch 14, 20066–1@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)31–29–4Recap
65LMarch 16, 20062–4@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)31–30–4Recap
66LMarch 17, 20062–4@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)31–31–4Recap
67LMarch 19, 20062–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)31–32–4Recap
68WMarch 21, 20063–1Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)32–32–4Recap
69LMarch 24, 20063–4 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)32–32–5Recap
70WMarch 25, 20065–1Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)33–32–5Recap
71LMarch 28, 20060–2@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)33–33–5Recap
72LMarch 29, 20061–5New York Rangers (2005–06)33–34–5Recap
73LMarch 31, 20060–4Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)33–35–5Recap :
April: 3–5–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 1–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
74LApril 2, 20061–4Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)33–36–5Recap
75LApril 5, 20062–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)33–37–5Recap
76LApril 6, 20061–3@ New York Rangers (2005–06)33–38–5Recap
77WApril 8, 20065–0Washington Capitals (2005–06)34–38–5Recap
78WApril 11, 20063–2@ New York Rangers (2005–06)35–38–5Recap
79LApril 13, 20063–4 OTToronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)35–38–6Recap
80WApril 15, 20065–4 SOPittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)36–38–6Recap
81LApril 17, 20061–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)36–39–6Recap
82LApril 18, 20061–4Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)36–40–6Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 81 | Miroslav Satan | LW | 82 | 35 | 31 | 66 | −8 | 54 |
| 79 | Alexei Yashin | C | 82 | 28 | 38 | 66 | −14 | 68 |
| 55 | Jason Blake | C | 76 | 28 | 29 | 57 | 0 | 60 |
| 16 | Mike York | LW | 75 | 13 | 39 | 52 | −9 | 30 |
| 37 | Mark Parrish‡ | RW | 57 | 24 | 17 | 41 | −14 | 16 |
| 7 | Trent Hunter | RW | 82 | 16 | 19 | 35 | −9 | 34 |
| 17 | Shawn Bates | C | 66 | 15 | 19 | 34 | −11 | 60 |
| 14 | Chris Campoli | D | 80 | 9 | 25 | 34 | −16 | 46 |
| 77 | Alexei Zhitnik | D | 59 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 4 | 88 |
| 3 | Brent Sopel‡ | D | 57 | 2 | 25 | 27 | −9 | 64 |
| 45 | Arron Asham | RW | 63 | 9 | 15 | 24 | −5 | 103 |
| 12 | Oleg Kvasha‡ | LW | 49 | 9 | 12 | 21 | −2 | 32 |
| 21 | Robert Nilsson | C | 53 | 6 | 14 | 20 | −6 | 26 |
| 24 | Radek Martinek | D | 74 | 1 | 16 | 17 | −9 | 32 |
| 25 | Brad Lukowich‡ | D | 57 | 1 | 12 | 13 | −3 | 32 |
| 44 | Janne Niinimaa‡ | D | 41 | 1 | 9 | 10 | −7 | 62 |
| 10 | Sean Bergenheim | LW | 28 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −11 | 20 |
| 4 | Joel Bouchard | D | 25 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 23 |
| 18 | Jeff Hamilton | C | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 28 | Wyatt Smith | C | 42 | 0 | 8 | 8 | −7 | 26 |
| 6 | Bruno Gervais | D | 27 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −1 | 8 |
| 11 | Mattias Weinhandl‡ | RW | 53 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −4 | 14 |
| 49 | Eric Godard | RW | 57 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 115 |
| 15 | Jeff Tambellini† | LW | 21 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Denis Grebeshkov† | D | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −8 | 8 |
| 26 | Rob Collins | C | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | Jeremy Colliton | C | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 29 | Petteri Nokelainen | C | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 4 |
| 44 | John Erskine† | D | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −12 | 99 |
| 39 | Rick DiPietro | G | 63 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 28 |
| 38 | Allan Rourke | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 43 | Ryan Caldwell | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 62 | Kevin Colley‡ | C | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 52 |
| 34 | Wade Dubielewicz | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 63 | Cole Jarrett | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | Matt Koalska | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 58 | Masi Marjamaki | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Tomi Pettinen | D | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 16 |
| 48 | Steve Regier | LW | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 30 | Garth Snow | G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 39 | Rick DiPietro | 63 | 30 | 24 | 5 | 1797 | 180 | 3.02 | .900 | 1 | 3572 |
| 30 | Garth Snow | 20 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 595 | 68 | 3.72 | .886 | 0 | 1096 |
| 34 | Wade Dubielewicz | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 145 | 15 | 2.90 | .897 | 0 | 310 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Rick DiPietro (March 13) | |
| Team | Bob Nystrom Award | Kevin Colley | |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Chris Campoli | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Robert Nilsson | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Petteri Nokelainen | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Kevin Colley | October 27, 2005 |
| First game | Jeremy Colliton | November 23, 2005 |
| First game | Bruno Gervais | December 4, 2005 |
| First game | Rob Collins | December 17, 2005 |
| First game | Steve Regier | April 2, 2006 |
| First game | Matt Koalska | April 13, 2006 |
| First game | Ryan Caldwell | April 15, 2006 |
| First game | Cole Jarrett | April 18, 2006 |
| First game | Masi Marjamaki | April 18, 2006 |

## Transactions

The Islanders were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03) | To Vancouver Canucks Conditional 2nd-round pick in 2006 | To New York Islanders Brent Sopel |
| August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03) | To Edmonton Oilers Michael Peca | To New York Islanders Mike YorkConditional draft pick in 2006 |
| January 10, 2006 (2006-01-10) | To Dallas Stars Janne Niinimaa5th-round pick in 2007 | To New York Islanders John Erskine2nd-round pick in 2006 |
| March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08) | To Los Angeles Kings Mark ParrishBrent Sopel | To New York Islanders Denis GrebeshkovJeff TambelliniConditional 3rd-round pick in 2006 |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | To Phoenix Coyotes Oleg KvashaConditional 5th-round pick | To New York Islanders 3rd-round pick in 2006 |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | To New Jersey Devils Brad Lukowich | To New York Islanders 3rd-round pick in 2006 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02) | Alexei Zhitnik | Ak Bars Kazan (RSL) | 4-year | Free agency |
| August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03) | Miroslav Satan | Buffalo Sabres | 3-year | Free agency |
| August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10) | Wyatt Smith | Nashville Predators | | Free agency |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Brad Lukowich | Tampa Bay Lightning | 2-year | Free agency |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Allan Rourke | Carolina Hurricanes | | Free agency |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Joel Bouchard | Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 6, 2005 (2005-09-06) | Travis Brigley | Valerenga (GET) | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 10, 2005 (2005-09-10) | Paul Flache | Atlanta Thrashers | | Free agency |
| January 5, 2006 (2006-01-05) | Frederic Cloutier | Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| April 6, 2005 (2005-04-06) | Kenny Jonsson | Rogle BK (Allsvenskan) | Retirement (II) |
| June 16, 2005 (2005-06-16) | Graham Belak | Coventry Blaze (EIHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 12, 2005 (2005-07-12) | Blaine Down | Ritten Sport (Serie A) | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 29, 2005 (2005-07-29) | Dieter Kochan | HC Sibir Novosibirsk (RSL) | Free agency (VI) |
| August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02) | Adrian Aucoin | Chicago Blackhawks | Free agency (III) |
| August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02) | Dave Scatchard | Boston Bruins | Free agency (V) |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Ryan Kraft | Kassel Huskies (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Roman Hamrlik | Calgary Flames | Free agency (III) |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Jim Campbell | Tampa Bay Lightning | Free agency (III) |
| August 22, 2005 (2005-08-22) | Sven Butenschon | Vancouver Canucks | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 1, 2005 (2005-09-01) | Richard Seeley | Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| September 4, 2005 (2005-09-04) | Jeff Hamilton | Ak Bars Kazan (RSL) | Free agency |
| September 6, 2005 (2005-09-06) | Justin Mapletoft | Jokerit (Liiga) | Free agency (II) |
| October 17, 2005 (2005-10-17) | Barrett Heisten | Alaska Aces (ECHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| February 24, 2006 (2006-02-24) | Kevin Colley | | Retirement |
| March 4, 2006 (2006-03-04) | Mattias Weinhandl | Minnesota Wild | Waivers |
| May 5, 2006 (2006-05-05) | Tomi Pettinen | Frölunda HC (SHL) | Free agency |
| June 14, 2006 (2006-06-14) | Travis Brigley | Augsburger Panther (DEL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Jeremy Colliton | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 29, 2005 (2005-07-29) | Garth Snow | 3-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Mattias Weinhandl | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 13, 2005 (2005-08-13) | Trent Hunter | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 13, 2005 (2005-08-13) | Mike York | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Arron Asham | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Oleg Kvasha | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16) | Radek Martinek | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16) | Brent Sopel | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 17, 2005 (2005-08-17) | Masi Marjamaki | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 22, 2005 (2005-08-22) | Shawn Bates | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | Petteri Nokelainen | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 24, 2005 (2005-08-24) | Justin Papineau | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 30, 2005 (2005-08-30) | Robert Nilsson | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 31, 2005 (2005-08-31) | Tomi Pettinen | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 1, 2005 (2005-09-01) | Kevin Colley | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 1, 2005 (2005-09-01) | Rob Collins | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07) | Rick DiPietro | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 12, 2005 (2005-09-12) | Mark Parrish | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 29, 2005 (2005-09-29) | Eric Godard | | Re-signing |
| November 14, 2005 (2005-11-14) | Jeff Hamilton | | Re-signing |
| March 6, 2006 (2006-03-06) | Shawn Bates | 3-year | Extension |
| March 7, 2006 (2006-03-07) | Radek Martinek | 2-year | Extension |
| March 22, 2006 (2006-03-22) | Blake Comeau | 3-year | Entry-level |
| March 30, 2006 (2006-03-30) | Ryan O'Marra | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 15, 2006 (2006-05-15) | Frans Nielsen | 2-year | Entry-level |
| May 16, 2006 (2006-05-16) | Johan Halvardsson | | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2006 (2006-06-01) | Jason Pitton | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 15 | Ryan O'Marra | Canada | Erie Otters (OHL) |
| 2 | 46 | Dustin Kohn | Canada | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) |
| 3 | 76 | Shea Guthrie | Canada | St. George's School (USHS-RI) |
| 5 | 144 | Masi Marjamaki | Finland | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 6 | 180 | Tyrell Mason | Canada | Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL) |
| 7 | 196 | Nick Tuzzolino | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 7 | 210 | Luciano Aquino | Canada | Brampton Battalion (OHL) |