1972 – 73 New York Islanders season The 1972 - 73 New York Islanders season was the first season in the franchise ' s history . At the beginning of 1972 , Gordie Howe was offered the job as first head coach of the New York Islanders , but turned it down . The Islanders were coached by Phil Goyette ( 6 - 38 - 4 ) and Earl Ingarfield ( 6 - 22 - 2 ) . Regular season . With the impending start of the World Hockey Association in the fall of 1972 , the upstart league had plans to place its New York team in the brand - new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County , New York . However , Nassau County officials did not consider the WHA a professional league and wanted nothing to do with the upstart New York Raiders . The only legal way to keep the Raiders out of the Coliseum was to get an NHL team to play there , so William Shea , who had helped bring the New York Mets to the area a decade earlier , was pressed into service once again . Shea found a receptive ear in league president Clarence Campbell , who did not want the additional competition in the New York area . So , despite having expanded to 14 teams just two years before , the NHL hastily awarded a Long Island - based franchise to clothing manufacturer Roy Boe , owner of the American Basketball Association ' s New York Nets . A second expansion franchise was awarded to Atlanta ( the Flames ) at the same time to balance the schedule . The new team was widely expected to take the Long Island Ducks name used by an Eastern Hockey League franchise ; the more geographically expansive " New York Islanders " came largely as a surprise . The fledgling Islanders , who were soon nicknamed the Isles by the local newspapers , had an extra burden to pay in the form of a $ 4 million territorial fee to the nearby New York Rangers . True to their name , the New York Islanders officially represent New York ( city and state ) , with their nickname and logo denoting their current arena location and fan heartbed ; but their support has also naturally come from the boroughs , upsate , Connecticut , and elsewhere in the metro area . This geographical backdrop set the stage for one of the NHL ' s fiercest and most celebrated regional rivalries . While the Islanders secured veteran forward Ed Westfall from the Boston Bruins in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft , junior league star Billy Harris in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft , and a few other respectable players , several other draftees jumped to the WHA . Unlike most other expansion teams ' general managers , Islanders ' GM Bill Torrey didn ' t make many trades for veteran players in the early years . Rather than pursue a " win now " strategy of getting a few veterans to boost attendance ( a tactic which proved disastrous for many teams in the long run ) , Torrey was committed to building through the draft . In the team ' s first season , young players such as goaltender Billy Smith ( the team ' s second pick in the expansion draft ) and forwards Bob Nystrom and Lorne Henning were given chances to prove themselves in the NHL . However , this young and inexperienced expansion team posted a record of 12 – 60 – 6 , one of the worst in NHL history . Player stats . Forwards . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; PIM = Penalty minutes " Defencemen . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; PIM = Penalty minutes " Goaltending . " Note : GP = Games played ; MIN = Minutes ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; T = Ties ; SO = Shutouts ; GA = Goals against ; GAA = Goals against average " References . < / div >