Thanks For Everything Charles

There's few people in the New York sports landscape who had as much of an impact as Charles Wang did with the New York Islanders. He took a team that was down on its luck and turn them back in the right direction, making them relevant again. It was announced on Sunday afternoon that Charles Wang, at 74 years old, passed away from apparent lung cancer. When Wang bought the Islanders, they were a down on their luck organization, but now they are a different team, and Charles had a say in that.

When Wang came in as owner prior to the 2000-01 season, the Islanders were a bad team. His first year as owner, the Islanders won just 21 games. The next year, they turned the corner, collecting 97 points to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994. They made the playoffs the next two years after that, but never really went very far. After the lockout the Isles have made four playoff appearances. What this does and shows is, that in the first few years of the franchise under Wang's leadership, they took a huge leap in the right direction to becoming a destination for a hockey player to come play. He made the improvements needed to get this team going in the right direction, which they went.

Sure, since then there have been some moves and decisions that left fans frustrated. Of course the biggest one was the move to Barclays Center after a remodel deal on the Nassau Coliseum fell through. That was one of the big things that helped Wang become successful in business, he had an eye for the future. He had been successful in the business world for almost forty years, which is what lead to him becoming owner of the Isles. What he did to get the Isles back to the level they achieved early in his tenure as owner speaks volumes for the franchise.

Because of his business ventures, some felt he would be a success running a professional hockey team. Wang took the money he had and used it to reinvest in the team, showing the team and fan base that he cared very deeply about the team. He made upgrades to the locker room and practice facility. Made upgrades to the players, or at least gave his GM the freedom to do so. When things started to change, he made the changes needed to get the team back on track. Wasn't always pretty but it got the job done. The biggest thing that Wang tried to do was redo Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding area. He was snubbed by Nassau County and I really wish they wouldn't have been so stubborn and just listened to his ideas. It could have been a great thing for the county, but now the Coliseum just looks nice at best. Let's not get into that argument now.

Charles Wang really did a lot for the Islanders franchise and many Islanders fans thank him for everything he helped do to get this team back into relevance. Thanks for everything that you did for the Islanders, and for the media world, Charles. You will be deeply missed.