New York Islanders: 3 players who are gone but not forgotten

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These ex-New York Islanders are gone but not forgotten.

Every so often, when I think about the New York Islanders, I think about the players that came before this exciting team that has taken the ice the last couple of years.

Watching the team religiously in the mid-2000s, I was able to see some fantastic players, despite the team’s overall struggles. Over time, those players that I came to love came and went. Unfortunately, most of the players that did leave the island saw their careers fall apart following their departure.

Take a trip down memory lane with me as we take a look at three individuals that, for me at least, will always come to mind when I think of my childhood Islanders.

Rob Schremp

Known for his silky mitts, Rob Schremp was a spectacle anytime it was him against an opposing netminder. That came more often than not during the shootout. Despite playing just under 90 games for the Islanders from 2009-2011, he definitely left his mark with his creativity.

As you can see, he was deceptive, using head fakes and a quick forehand move to finish in tight.
But besides the abundance of shootout goals, Schremp scored one of the sickest goals you will ever see at the NHL level.

With 17 goals and 30 assists over his time on the island, he was in no way an offensive juggernaut. Schremp was one of those players that dominated in every league but the National Hockey League. After leaving the Islanders, he would dress in 18 games for the Atlanta Thrashers, picking up just four points.

That would lead to the end of his time in the NHL, as he made stops in the Swedish Elite League, the Kontinental Hockey League, and different professional levels in Switzerland.

He did try to make a comeback in 2015, as he played for the Portland Pirates, the Florida Panthers AHL affiliate at the time. The then 29-year old scored 21 goals and picked up 21 assists in 71 games but found himself back in Sweden shortly after that season.

His statistics end with a phenomenal 2017-18 season in Austria, with Salzburg EC as he looked Barzal-Esque, racking up 38 assists, along with nine goals in 36 games. He officially announced his retirement in November of 2018.

In August of 2020, Schremp moved to Latvia, signing with HK Mogo of the Latvian Hockey Higher League.

Matt Moulson

It is hard to believe that Matt Moulson has been absent from the Islanders for seven years already. This was a pure goal scorer who arrived back in 2009, the same year “he who shall not be named” made his way into the Islanders’ spotlight.

The Ontario native seems to be the goal scorer this team needed, racking up three 30-plus goal seasons in his first three Islander campaigns. From 2009-2011, Moulson averaged 32.3 goals per season while averaging 56.7 points. He just seemed to be one of those guys in the right spot on the ice at the right time.

On Dec 3, 2011, Moulson could not be stopped as he lit the lamp a total of four times against the Dallas Stars. His team would need all four of these goals, as they barely won the back and forth game by a score of 5-4.

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He would cap that season off with a career-best 36 goals and 69 points as the sky seemed to be the limit for the then 26-year old.

Following that tremendous season, the NHL would run into some unfortunate issues. The players would go on strike, leading to a regular season of just 48 games. Moulson would play in 47 of the team’s 48, racking up 15 goals and 29 assists. His goals per game dropped from .439 to .313 but finished with a strong 43 points.

The fans loved him. His teammates loved him. However, like every sport, hockey is a business, and after just 11 games into the 2013-14 campaign, a contract year none the less, he would be shipped off to Buffalo for veteran star Thomas Vanek. Garth Snow was still at the helm, giving up a second-round selection in 2015 and a conditional first-round pick in 2014 for a guy who made it clear that he would test free agency come to the end of the season.

While Vanek did play well alongside Tavares, registering 44 points in 47 games, Tavares would suffer a season-ending leg injury. Because it was slim Vanek would re-sign anyway, he was dealt to the Habs before ultimately signing with the Wild, a place he had stated he wanted to be prior due to his collegiate connection, starring at the University of Minnesota.

Moulson would play 44 games with Buffalo (11 goals,18 assists) before being shipped off. Coincidentally enough, he would join Vanek and the Minnesota Wild. In the team’s remaining 20 games, he lit the lamp six times.

When it came time to test free agency, Moulson elected to head back to Buffalo. He was never the same player, as his stats took a significant hit, causing Molson to be forgotten by many.
He last played in an NHL game for the Sabres back in 2017-18.

In the last three seasons, he has bounced around the American Hockey League, recently playing for the Hershey Bears this past season, an affiliate of the Washington Capitals. The dream of playing at the NHL level will sadly never come again for the 37-year old, but we are glad to see he is still playing.

Working for the Binghamton Devils this past year, I was fortunate enough to watch Moulson play when the teams met in Upstate New York. He wears an “A” on his jersey, and it seems that while he will never get a shot at the NHL level again, he is doing what he can to be a leader for his younger teammates.

Kyle Okposo

Since scoring his first NHL goal helmet-less, Kyle Okposo became my favorite player. To me, he represented what it meant to be an Islander, and when he and Frans Nielsen both left in the summer of 2016, that was a tough pill to swallow.

A seventh overall pick back in the 2006 NHL Entry Level Draft, Okposo was always a player that never truly got the recognition he deserved. In his nine years with the club, the Minnesota native recorded 369 points in 525 games.

His best season on the island came in 2013-14 when he put up 27 goals and 42 assists. He shot at a 13.8 percent clip, his second-highest of his career. Later that year, when it was time for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Okposo was snubbed from the roster. It had been a bounce-back year for the then 25-year old after scoring just four times in 48 games in the shortened 2012-13 campaign.

Be that as it may, it did not stop Okposo from giving it all he got each and every night. On January 2nd, 2014, the fueled Okposo scored the game-winning goal against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

From the moment that goal went in until he left the ice following his on-ice interview, the crowd roared.

That was one of the proudest moments for me during his time on the island.

As much as I never wanted him to wear another NHL jersey, the team had other ideas. There was little talk with Okposo and the team, as he decided to sign a seven-year, $42 million deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

Buffalo then and now is a place where careers go to die. Sadly, the same can be said for my man Okposo.

Since joining the team, Okposo has watched his offensive numbers dwindle. This past year, he only had nine goals and 10 assists, setting a career-low mark in points. He also set a new career-low in time on ice, playing just under 13 minutes per game.

His struggling stats can be credited to the fact that since joining the Sabres in 2016, he has had four concussions. In the summer of 2017, he found himself in the Neuro ICU unit at a Buffalo hospital.

Given his injury history, it is actually crazy that this man still is playing in the NHL. While he is not old by any means, turning 33 this season, he may have to call it a career earlier than he wants.

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For the first time in a while, the Buffalo Sabres have some weapons that may help Okposo reignite his burnt-out flame. Although his team’s division is rather tough this season, it will be nice to see Okposo when the Sabres and Islanders meet eight times this season

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