Joined by returning guest Nick Giglia, we celebrate goalie Al Montoya, who took a long road to the NHL and looked for a half season like more found money for the scrappy Islanders. Montoya had all the makings of an Islanders villain including getting drafted high by the Rangers and a preseason fight against Rick DiPietro. But after years of being blocked by other goalies on nearly every team he was on, a rash of injuries across the country and a favor by a sympathetic GM landed him on Long Island in the middle of an already crazy season. Montoya joined Michael Grabner, Jack Capuano and the rest of the scrapheap Isles in what would be an exciting if futile run at a playoff berth, all done against the backdrop of an also futile run at a new arena through a referendum vote. "El Cubano Grande" remains a favorite of ours, and Nick walks us through his memories of this wild season, some unbelievable facts that changed Montoya's fortunes and the unfortunate crash that ended his Islanders tenure far too soon.

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

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