Islanders Anxiety: A New York Islanders podcast

Mike and Dan recap a week of close-but-no-cigar games and discuss the season-ending injury to Alexander Romanov (and Igor Shesterkin).

In losses to the Rangers and Lightning, the Islanders showed some good things, but ultimately came away with zero points, which is a problem even this early in the season. At 2-3-0, they once again are starting a campaign in a middling, alternating way, while teams around them have hit the ground running. True, it could always be worse (just look at the Blackhawks, who the Islanders beat last Thursday), but it's fair to wonder why it's never better, and why no one ever demands more from these players who supposedly care so much about winning and each other. The Islanders somehow never have enough to beat the good teams and have to have everything go exactly right in order to come away victorious against even the bad ones.

In the second half, we look ahead towards another week of winnable games. Returning with at least a .500 record is a must but is it too much to ask for three straight wins, against one bad team and two pretty good ones? It is for these guys. We also look at both the human toll and the on-ice effect of the Romanov injury. While the boys in the room will miss their fallen teammate, don't hold your breath for any reinforcements or replacements. As for Shesterkin, don't worry; the Rangers will be fine. They always are.

We'll be recording our Monthly Mail Bag podcast for October, so be sure to get to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety, sign up for the Country Club tier and get your questions in. The podcast will release on Tuesday exclusively for Country Club tier subscribers.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends!

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harold Griffin, guitarist and songwriter for Long Island-based punk band Koyo, helps us kick off Season 6 of Weird Islanders by talking about distinguished defenseman Dennis Seidenberg's odd path to the team.

Seidenberg was both unlikely and perfect for the Islanders at the same time. A Stanley Cup champion in Boston and as solid and respected a player on the ice as you'll find anywhere, he suddenly found himself bought out of his contract at 34-years old. After a great showing for Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey, GM Garth Snow signed Seidenberg to a one-year contract just before training camp, one of the most Islanders-esque moves we've ever seen. It turns out the big German still had a lot in the tank and provided the young team with the same steady play he was already known for. Although injuries derailed his second season with the club, he found a new and very important role in a longstanding Islanders lineage: as landlord to one of the team's up-and-coming stars.

Harold talks to us about how Long Island, the Islanders and sports have shaped him and his band, Koyo. We reminisce about Seidenberg's short Islanders tenure, his surprisingly sick stat line of that first season, the Isles' connections to the Bruins and the "New York Saints" spring of a few seasons later, and how Seidenberg has become one of the most Long Island-Weird Islanders ever. We also sneak a surprise extra Weird Islander in there, who even more surprisingly comes up again in our next episode!

Thanks again to Harold for coming on. We also have a Weird Islanders Extra! bonus episode where he tells us about getting harassed by Canadians for wearing Islanders gear on stage

and other observations from rock n' roll touring. Check out Koyo on YouTube, Spotify, Bandcamp or wherever you get your music and see them on tour starting this December at Warsaw in Brooklyn.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.Visit our friends!

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Dan recap the Islanders' first two games of the season, including an emphatic and historic home opening win over the Devils, as well as bring forth the first Master Leaf Theatre of a new year.

The Islanders went into the season with some bad vibes. The postseason was long and disappointing, even the new guys on the roster felt stale and the GM tried to bullshit the fanbase by talking about how much he "tried" to make meaningful changes. It didn't feel better after a blah 2-1 loss in Toronto, of all places, in Game 1. But Game 2 was different - with a cascade of goals, solid all around play and the first NHL tally for "The Agent of Chaos" Victor Eklund, who also got a happy birthday singalong, it was a party for everyone in blue-and-orange. Suddenly, the future seems bright again for what feels like the first time in years.

We hope to keep the good times rolling into Week 2, with games against the rising Rangers, beatable Blackhawks and litmus test Lightning on the horizon. These games will give us a true indication of what this team and season will be like for the next... [checks notes]... 82 games?

Of course a game against the Leafs means a new edition of Master Leaf Theatre for the new year. This one needs almost no introduction before it goes off the rails biblically (literally). We also have rookies skipping optional skates with their coach's blessing, more detail on a goal song than anyone will ever need and a computer masquerading as a man all the way to one of the most powerful seats in the land. It's an epic kick off to a fan favorite bit that keeps on giving.

Thanks again to everyone who came to either Zofia's Hideout on Wednesday or the game on Saturday (or both) and stopped by to say hello. We really appreciate the face-to-face meetings and kind words. Our next meetup at Zofia's will be on Tuesday, Oct. 27. More info to come.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.Visit our friends!

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Dan wrap up the Islanders preseason and prepare for the start of real games, while making two big announcements for this week.

The Islanders went 1-3 in the preseason, with some standout performances, a few injuries, a slew of guys sent to Hamilton and one free agent signing - hulking defenseman Logan Stanley. The games themselves didn't do much to get us excited for the season, and some of the moves also left us feeling a little bit of deja vu. The Islanders are asking a largely holdover crew to reverse the path they've been on for several seasons. They can start by once again becoming hard to play against, something they haven't been in a long, long time. It's possible that they surprise us this season - waiving Pierre Engvall was one surprise - but we find ourselves on the doubting side when we should be at our most joyful.

In the second half, we talk about the games against the Maple Leafs and Devils that kick off the new campaign, and how beating two good but flawed teams would do wonders for our mood. The Islanders have only won 14 of 53 home openers, which is a pathetic number. It would be great to get No. 15 this Saturday. We also take a quick look around the rest of the NHL and see who we think will be good, bad, disastrously funny or fun to watch without the worry we always bring to Islanders games.

Be sure to come to Zofia's Hideout, 84th Street in NYC on Wednesday for a meet up and viewing of the Islanders' season opener. Or say hello to us on Saturday at the Islanders home opener at UBS Arena against the Devils. We'll be in Sect. 101 in between periods.

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Dan return for Season 11 to run through some summer news on and off the ice, the Islanders' first preseason game and their super specific predictions for the season.

From the outside, it didn't look like the Islanders did much this offseason. But sickos like us know that's not the case. There's a new captain, a new assistant GM, a new minority owner, a new (actual human) winner of the third jersey design contest, and a new streaming home for the team with the worst name we've ever heard. There's also a "luxury item" the team might be able to see again this season. Sadly, the news isn't all good, as Mat Barzal will miss most of camp with inflammation. At least, that's what we think this weirdly-worded release says. We also say good bye to a guy we talked about A LOT last season. Uh, good luck to everyone involved.

In the second half, we "recap" the Islanders 2-1 preseason loss to the Devils and get used to Pete DeBoer's plainspoken pressers, which are a welcome change. We also look at some recent articles featuring Matthew Schaefer being awesome and the Islanders getting a fair, if realistic shake from an outlet that usually doesn't. Finally, we give some predictions on games, moves, awards, celebrities and other stuff we see happening around the Islanders and the NHL this season. We also pay our respects to late NHL coach and broadcaster Barry Melrose.

Thank you all so much for listening all these years. We're lucky and grateful that our show has now passed the decade mark, which is rarified air for podcasts. We're looking forward to bringing you our offbeat observations about this team for a long time.

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Dan reconvene after some family time to talk about the Islanders third jersey design contest and an article at The Athletic.

After 80,000 submissions, a fan-designed jersey has been chosen for the Islanders to wear in the 2027-28 season. The contest was the brainchild of the Islanders Lord Business himself, Kelly Cheeseman, who can pat himself on the back for a job well done. But we expected to see a little more creativity or "funk" in the final choices, not hear more about how the 54-year-old NHL team is a "Challenger Brand." The final choice was fine but how we got there raised some questions that may never be fully answered.

In the second half, we discuss The Athletic's NHL front-office confidence rankings for 2026 and the Islanders' middling place that shows the disconnect between how the public sees the roster and how fans do. Usually, it was non-Islanders fans thinking too little of them and fans having belief. Now, it's flipped, and the NHL at large sees an okay team and fans see a directionless disaster. It's a new dynamic that should raise some eyebrows in the front office and make them see how the customers are looking at their product.

Thanks for listening and sticking with us all off season. Our first official episode of the season will release on Monday, Sept. 21, so we've got about a month to go before we get the machine rolling again.

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Please enjoy this special bonus episode of Country Club Atmosphere, our non-hockey podcast exclusively at Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety. To hear the rest of the series and get other extras, consider a subscription. Thanks!)

Mike walks us through a scandal that has rocked the world of English cricket, involving a beloved captain, a nightclub dust-up and some hasty retreats.

Ben Stokes is a big deal in British cricket. He's an all-rounder who's captained the Black Caps to huge victories. He's not a buttoned-up Brit, either. He's more Oasis than The Beatles. But an unfortunate past-curfew incident in an afterhours club with (ironically) another English sports club caused the England and Wales Cricket Board to strip his captaincy, get his coach fired and cast a pall over their upcoming tests. After cooler heads prevailed, Stokes returned... only to abruptly retire in an even more disappointing and unfortunate layer to this entire shit shepherd's pie.

Mike explains the whole sordid affair to us and gives us some North American analogs to help us better understand who these people are and what they represent. Along the way, we hit on the World Cup final (and its halftime show) and villains becoming coaches of teams that hate them. We also pay condolences to a recently passed cricket legend and his connection to Black Sabbath, which we just made up. Also, Dan may have found a new team to cheer for.

Thank you all for listening and we hope we've sparked your interest for England's next test cricket match on August 19 versus Pakistan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a spiritual sequel to "A Canesmas Carol," we examine Hurricanes' owner Tom Dundon's decision to put his wife and five kids - none of whom work for the team and some of whom are in elementary school - on the Stanley Cup.

There are written and unwritten rules about whose names can be engraved on the Stanley Cup. Rich asshole Dundon seemed to break all of them by putting his entire family on it ahead of - and in some cases, instead of - team members who helped actually win the championship. This is an egregious breach of established hockey protocol that angered even some of the Hurricanes' biggest cheerleaders, in and out of their fanbase. This was a bridge too far, and may have - finally - shown people who this guy really is, despite all of the Twitter mutuals he may have hired.

We dramatize a selection of writing about this topic, from the serious to the satirical and from full length explainers to tweets and Reddit posts. The only people okay with this are the ones willing to stick up for the poor, put-upon billionaires who are just trying to make their kids happy (while ruining life for the rest of us).

We didn't expect to do a sequel to our last Special Presentation, but we're glad we were able to and keep the series going.

Works Cited:

Visit our friends!

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Dan examine the newest Islanders and the plan going forward, say goodbye to those who left via free agency - especially former captain Anders Lee - and wrap up their 10th podcast season.

Islanders GM Mathieu Darche made some smart, short-term pick ups on the first day of free agency, signing winger Matias Maccelli, goalie Vitek Vanacek and an "850K Club" of other depth pieces. While the moves themselves were fine, what they didn't do was move the needle for the team, who once again find themselves in tough to make the playoffs next season. The plan of having the cap space in 2027 to make bigger moves makes for an easy sell to fans, but it doesn't make the current team any better on the ice. There's a "shifting deck chairs on the Titanic" feel right now, even if the new guys might have some promise.

We also bid farewell to favorites Marc Gatcomb, Maxim Shabanov and Anders Lee, who all had their moments on Long Island. Seeing Lee, the longtime captain and one of the best post-Dynasty Islanders ever, sign with Utah makes us sad, but not mad. The contract he got from the Mammoth was too much for where the Islanders are going, and the ovation he gets when he returns to UBS Arena will be thunderous, reflecting all of the many things he did for the franchise off the ice and over 900-plus games. Not that the people who will now cover him have ever watched any of them...

Finally in the second half, we go around the league and discuss some of the smarter and more bizarre moves other teams made. The Capitals got better, the Leafs got... some guys, the Panthers got even nastier, the Kings got older and infinitely more hilarious and the Rangers remain the Rangers. Along the way, we sneak a little Michael Russo Non-Mystery in there, too.

We thank all of you for listening over these 10 seasons, and we look forward to coming back in October. We try to have some fun every episode and appreciate you all coming along for the ride. We'll have stuff all summer long for Patrons so stay tuned.

Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends!

⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike and Dan recap the Islanders picks in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, look ahead to a shallow free agency pool and bring forth a new, delusional Master Leaf Theatre.

The Islanders didn't make any big splashes in Buffalo but didn't come away as one of the draft's big losers, either. By focusing on defensemen - highlighted by first round pick Malte Gustafsson, who sounds like a Swedish clone of Adam Pelech - they went the safest route possible. Which is fine, but hardly sexy. And while some fans wonder why so many of their defensive prospects shoot from the same side, the fact is there's no guarantee any of these guys make the big club any time soon. We also discuss Matthew Schaefer's entertaining performance at this draft and the re-signing of Tony DeAngelo to another safe, fine deal.

In the second half, we talk about some free agents we could see (and would rather not see) the Islanders take a run at. None of these older guys deserve any kind of term, but some might be helpful on shorter, more frontloaded deals. We also look at how some teams in the Metro Division got much better over the weekend, which is never not annoying, and serve up a Master Leaf Theatre that not only boosts the Boys in Blue and White but also changes the trajectory of the NHL and every American player in it. Cancel those plane tickets to Florida, fam.

⁠⁠Vintage Ice Hockey⁠⁠ for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as ⁠⁠the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch⁠⁠. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.

⁠⁠The Pinot Project⁠⁠ has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.

Visit ⁠⁠Lighthousehockey.com⁠⁠ for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.

Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (⁠⁠@FansFirstSN⁠⁠).

Our theme is "Morning Haze" by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music ⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices