Hockey Returns Home

After two and a half years, the New York Islanders played a home game at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Lets not get ahead of ourselves here folks, its only a preseason game. They are not set to play regular season games at the old barn anytime soon. That being said, it gave the fans who still live out on Long Island a reason to cheer and celebrate hockey again after the team has shipped out to Brooklyn. Thanks to the heroics of John Tavares, the Islanders skated away with a 3-2 overtime win.

It was the first game at the Nassau Coliseum since April 25, 2015, in a 3-1 victory over Washington in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs. They were eliminated in a Game 7 loss two days later, and began playing at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center the following season.The fans greeted the team with a strong ovation when the Islanders took the ice for pregame warmups about 35 minutes before the game, and roared when they came back out for introductions shortly before puck drop. The cheers continued while a video on the scoreboard showed the team’s four championship banners and highlights of Stanley Cup wins. Between the closing of the barn in 2015 and Sunday afternoon, the arena was renovated with a capacity of about 13,900 for hockey, less than both the 16,170 it had previously and the 15,795 currently at Barclays Center.

Since the Islanders have moved to Barclays Center, they have an opt out clause in the contract with the arena. Currently, the lease between the Islanders and the Barclay Center has an opt-out clause with a January deadline that either side can exercise. If the Islanders choose to leave, they can do so as early as after the upcoming season, while either side can terminate the deal effective at the end of the 2018-19 season. There is a possibility, should the Islanders leave Barclays Center, would be the possibility of building a new arena either at Belmont Park or near Citi Field in Queens. There may still be an outside chance that the Coliseum will once again host NHL regular season hockey, but that seems like a long shot.

If the preseason game against the Flyers taught us anything, it showed that there is still plenty of fan support for hockey on Long Island. The volume and the energy that the crowd was able to generate in the old building was just like the days of old at the Coliseum.  There is no doubt that the fanbase craves the Islanders to be back at the old barn, the place where so much history was created. The fans want it to happen, they showed that in full force this past Sunday. It still has magic in it folks, get the team back where it belongs at the Nassau Coliseum. The house is ready, lets open the door wide and bring them back in where they should have been playing this whole entire time.