Islanders Anxiety: A New York Islanders podcast

Mike and Dan empty their tanks on the Islanders free agency signings, the draft, the Rangers imploding and The Wedding of the Century. It's been a busy few days on Long Island, and they've been good for the Islanders. Despite the craziness of free agency day, they signed speedy winger Anthony Duclair and brought back defenseman Mike Reilly on two very reasonable deals. Before that, they had talented prospect Cole Eiserman fall into their lap at the draft, and took a few other notable names as well in later rounds. And across the Atlantic Ocean, the players and some former teammates shirtlessly partied the night away with The Chainsmokers at the Pulock wedding in beautiful Italy. Meanwhile, other teams are making regrettable mistakes or deluding themselves, the Rangers are publicly botching the trade of their captain, TSN and ESPN are insulting their audiences and prospect writers are shoveling more nonsense than usual. We have a lot to get to in this season finale, but most of all we thank you for hanging with us throughout another season and we hope we made it a little more fun for you. We'll be back in October (unless there's news to discuss).

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Mike and Dan look back at Kyle Okposo's Stanley Cup and Kyle MacLean's new contract before looking ahead to the NHL Draft and free agency with Ethan Sears of the NY Post. With the Panthers' 2-1 victory over Edmonton in Game 7, their long-suffering fans can finally feel some relief, while we can chuckle at the Oilers' failure, ESPN's issues and how many people were wrong about so many things this season. We're happy for a few former Islanders, and we're also happy a current Islander will be sticking around on a bargain deal. Meanwhile, the Devils got a goalie, the Rangers get bailed out of a bad contract (giving us an impromptu Ranger Piece Theater subject) and the Capitals get a guy who can sulk for them into the future. But that's not all! This supersized episode welcomes in Ethan Sears to talk about what he expects the Islanders to do at this week's draft, how they need to change (but might not) and how he enjoyed his time at the T20 Cricket World Cup at Eisenhower Park. Thanks again to Ethan for giving us some of his time this afternoon. Finally, we finish with some predictions and a call for the Islanders to pick an identity that can help them and us conceptualize our own Stanley Cup celebration.

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

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On March 30, 2024 at the new Offside NYC in Manhattan, Mike and Dan were joined by listeners to hear their stories of their favorite Weird Islanders. We were gifted with tales of getting a Weird Islander jersey recognized in the desert, running into actual Islanders on Caribbean beaches, and rival neighbors preying on our loyalty, as well as with actual gifts, as not one but two attendees bring the guys the same off-kilter (and off-putting) Islanders knickknack! Our final guest opens the door to examine some Weird Islanders Coaches, as well as giving us a little more personal insight into the Life of Leboff. We were also surrounded by a glorious rainbow of jerseys celebrating some short-time Islanders and we do our best to paint the picture in audio form.

Sign up for Country Club tier at Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety to hear a special deleted story from Mike's friend Kenny, who not only owns the greatest shirt ever made but tells the tale of how he snuck into one of the most important Islanders games in recent history.

Thank you so much again to everyone who came out and shared their stories or just enjoyed the afternoon at Offside NYC. We had a great group and a ton of laughs. And special thanks to manager Thomas, liaison/raffle master Michael Paul Smith, Will Stevens and the rest of Isles Meetups NYC, and the legendary Nick Costa for their support in setting up, promoting and running the event. We needed all the help we could get, but maybe this is the first of many live gatherings.

Since this was our first time recording live, the quality isn't as perfect as we had hoped. But it gets better as the show goes on and, most importantly, our guest speakers come through loud and clear. So please bear with us, and you won't be disappointed.

This is our season finale for Season Three of Weird Islanders: The Podcast! We'll be back next season with an all new slate of guests, stories and momentary members of this one-of-a-kind franchise. Thanks for listening this season and enjoy the summer.

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Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

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In this special free sample of our latest episode of Country Club Atmosphere, Mike talks about how the NHL and the Islanders managed to seep into his time at the T20 Cricket World Cup games played at Eisenhower Park in the last couple of weeks.

He tells us why ex-cricket players make better on-air talent than ex-NHL players, how one visiting journalist became an Islanders fan over the course of his short stay on Long Island, and how one unfortunate Islanders fan video still haunts the team across the continent.

To hear the full episode, and all of our other Country Club Atmosphere episodes (it's our non-hockey podcast that somehow always ends up back at hockey), head over to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier.

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Enjoy this sample of June's Monthly Mail Bag podcast. Here, we look at sad fanbases, the death of Capfriendly, celebs at Islanders games and the least worst name choice for the NHL's newest team.

Later, we tackle some different possible timelines for the Islanders, body switching, time travelling and uses for a few other super powers. We also discuss jersey choices, Islanders media choices, and UBS Arena food choices, and joke about making movies and starting our own podcast network. Things get wild, but it feels good to talk Islanders in the middle of summer.

To hear the full episode, head over to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier.

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Joined by David Skurnik of Skurnik Wines and The Pinot Project, Mike and Dan remember the short Long Island stint of "superstar journeyman" Olli Jokinen. Jokinen arrived and left in two of the worst trades in Islanders history. In between, he was ridiculed by his general manager, dismissed by fans, endured long slumps and trade rumors, and only finally came alive after it was too late. Once free of the Islanders, he found his game in Florida, then began a decade-long tour through the NHL before coming back into the Islanders' orbit as a coach... for a prospect who was also traded. David tells us his philosophy on the wine business, how kids birthday parties at Nassau Coliseum could easily get ruined and how a small bounce here or there can really change a team's fortunes.

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Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

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Mike and Dan take a deep breath as the Rangers get eliminated from the playoffs, opening the door for the first ever edition of "Ranger Piece Theater." We do some dramatic readings of Blueshirts postmortems and examine how a fanbase that is catered to almost exclusively by the NHL's biggest broadcast partners somehow still seems to feel they are being targeted unfairly (maybe they'll make a documentary about that, too). We also throw in one Panthers-focused work that is somehow a referendum on the Maple Leafs continued struggles. But because we're not just here to hate, we start by discussing the recent changes at the top of the Islanders goaltending department, with new voices coming in and exiting, and congratulate captain Anders Lee on a much deserved King Clancy Trophy.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

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

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In their Rangers-free zone, Mike and Dan discuss the recent trade the Islanders made with the Chicago Blackhawks that netted them an extra second round pick and some flexibility this offseason. Through a swap of first rounders, the Islanders received a well-traveled group of assets that could help them get rid of an onerous contract (whether they need to or not), or be used to trade for an impact player. And one particular talented but troubled player - who might be on the outs with his hometown team - could be a target of the Islanders, who have a lot of connections back to him, assuming he even wants to be traded. We also talk about some different players who are rumored to be on the move, and whether Lou Lamoriello could just use the picks to draft some other dudes we've never heard of in a month. Either way, this seemingly random Memorial Day Weekend news dump is something we'll be thinking about for the next few weeks.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of the shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends:

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

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Along with Nassaumen Hockey's Jon Zella, Mike and Dan crown the first ever Weirdest Islander of the Year per the results of a listener vote. While several had the qualifications (less than 50 games played for the Islanders this season), only one man truly epitomized what makes a Weird Islander, with a long NHL tenure on other teams, a notable arrival on Long Island, and an eventful season that included a memorable ending. His victory might have come in a runaway but that doesn't mean there wasn't intrigue! The race for second place was a surprising one, and the man who lost might be the more interesting (and fitting) of the two. We also have some honorable mentions, who we don't expect to stay Weird Islanders for very long, and we name the trophy that will henceforth be awarded annually. It's a fine and festive way to celebrate the 50th episode of a show that’s a testament to the fans of this very weird team. Thank you all for listening to these and rest assured that we are nowhere near done.

And, of course, thanks again to Jon for joining us again. He’s one of our favorites to talk to all through the season. Follow him at @JonZella and look for the season finale of the Nassaumen Hockey podcast soon (I think).

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

Visit our friends:

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

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A free sample of our marathon Mail Bag for May! In this short bonus episode, we answer questions about newest Islander Maxim Tsyplakov, the constantly overlooked Brock Nelson, the legacy of Uncle Leo and where the Hudson Line stops next.

To hear the full two hour-plus episode, head over to Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety and sign up for our Country Club tier. There you'll be able to hear all of our past Monthly Mail Bag episodes and ask a question for a future installment.

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