Will Brooklyn Accept The Islanders?

The move to Brooklyn doesn't guarantee Charles Wang's franchise any success.

And so it happened. The inevitable happened. The Islanders will move out of their worn-out digs on Long Island and move onto greener pastures. Everyone knew it was going to happen, but, Brooklyn? Really? As intelligent and as reasonable an idea of moving to Brooklyn would be for the Islanders, did we expect Charles Wang to do so? Probably not. You probably envisioned him moving to Kansas City after the whole Lighthouse ordeal fell through. As if Missouri would be any better than Phoenix or Atlanta. Now that Wang has pulled off this move to Brooklyn, will the faithful borough become faithful to the NHL?

Wang might be a terrible owner but he made a great move to Brooklyn

First of all we need to take a look at this franchise as a whole. Going from the base up, there is some young talent on this team. Michael Grabner, Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome and of course John Tavares headline a core group of young studs who could produce a solid product by 2015. But we all know for the Islanders that you need to sign quality veterans to quality deals in order to generate a fully stable commodity. Signing veterans has been the antithesis of the Islanders ever since the oh-so-wise Mike Milbury took over the position in '95, eventually handing it over to the trigger happy Garth Snow in 2006. That transitions us nicely to upper, upper management. It's become increasingly clear that Charles Wang has no idea how to run an NHL franchise since he waited six years to fire Lloyd Christmas before hiring Harry Dunne to take over hockey operations. In his time at the head of the Islander circus, the team has made the playoffs four times in 11 years. Overpaid countless stars and taken more jokes than Rex Ryan's wife's feet. And in those four playoff runs (if you want to call them that) they won a total of six games, only making it past Game 5 of the ECQFs once. I'm not exactly sure that qualifies him as a good owner, or even an mediocre one. And it's not even as if he's working without franchise history. The Islanders were the best team in the NHL for four straight years from '79-'83 and if you want to go even deeper than that, the Islanders made the playoffs fourteen seasons in a row starting in 1975.

That leads me to this point, there was a major fanbase in New York. Long Island (and some other parts of NY) truly embraced the Islanders well into the 90s, but as the late 90s transformed into the one-and-done early 2000s, the fans started to complain (appropriately) about a decaying arena, a pathetic team and dying franchise. It's really only been the last 15 years that the Islanders have become irrelevant. They were an important part of the National Hockey League since basically day one. But those years are long gone and now they are the butt of every hockey joke. Their fanbase has seriously dwindled and the young generation of hockey fans that would have been Islanders fan, are on the Blueshirt bandwagon now.

So will a move to Brooklyn foster new fanhoods?  In one way, yes, the borough is teeming with excitement over getting its first team since the Dodgers. I don't see why they wouldn't use a second Brooklyn squad to further the pound-your-chest-cause-you're-from-Brooklyn cause. The NHL might be a cult sport, but being from Brooklyn means you wear it with pride (even though that often leads you into a fight). How many casual NHL fans are there in the BK that would pick up an NHL team simply because it's on their doorstep? I'd say there aren't enough die-hard Rangers fans or Rangers success to render that movement obsolete. Another one of the keys here would have to be name choice. They cannot go with the Islanders again, because that is just a lackadaisical move and will invigorate absolutely no one in the borough. I've always been a fan of the Brooklyn Deckers name, both because of the pun and I think it's actually a solid name. The BK can always rep an attractive lady, can't it?

Granted, I will say the Islanders can't throw up a 68-point dud of a season in 2015, that's not a way to build a fanbase. And if the past seasons of 61, 79, 73 and 79 are any indication of the future then it might be hard for Wang and co. to get Brooklyn excited for hockey. Basketball is one thing, a sport well-versed on the streets of Brooklyn and the rest of the city, but hockey? That sport struggles even in the massive, diverse borough of Manhattan. The Islanders aren't going to get the hall pass the Nets have gotten over the past few years. Plus are they really going to be able to compete with the Rangers and the classic Madison Square Garden? Well it's going to take more than a couple first round exits to do so.

So will Brooklyn accept their new, new professional sports team? Only time will tell, but the Islanders tryout starts whenever they drop the puck next and they better be ready.