Islanders’ home fans pay tribute to legend Mike Bossy
The Islanders, fittingly, played their first game following Mike Bossy’s death in his hometown of Montreal last Friday night. And upon their return to Long Island on Tuesday following a three-game road trip, they gave Bossy a tribute in front of the home fans.
“He is an Islander legend,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “These are his people.”
Those words rang true Tuesday night.
The Islanders gave Bossy, who died of lung cancer at the age of 65, an extended pregame tribute that lasted more than eight minutes, complete with a video and moment of silence. They also laid wreaths at Bossy’s plaque in the entryway to UBS Arena. Bossy’s No. 22 was illuminated in the rafters. His wife, Lucie, and one of their daughters, Tanya, was in attendance, along with grandchildren Alexe and Gabrielle.
“I looked back into the crowd after the video, was seeing some tears coming down a couple faces,” Mathew Barzal said after the 3-2 overtime loss to the Panthers. “Obviously there was probably a lot of people in the building tonight that saw him play live and saw him win on Long Island.”
Trotz said he liked that the tribute included not just highlights of Bossy, but the Hall of Famer himself speaking on his values.
“I thought that was extremely touching and it was very well done,” Trotz said. “And it had, I think, an emotional response to anybody who had watched Mike play or come into contact with him over the years.”
It’s the third time this season the Islanders have had to honor one of their alumni following his death. Clark Gillies and Jean Potvin, both of whom were part of the 1980 championship team with Bossy, died in late January and mid-March, respectively.
“When you lose a guy, a player that was so important to the organization, so important to those Stanley Cups, it’s a sad day for the organization,” said Zach Parise, whose father, J.P. Parise, was an Islander during Bossy’s rookie season of 1977-78. “Was a player you look at and you see this is one of the greatest goal scorers of all time. You see his name, you see his picture, jersey in the rafters. So you understand the impact that he had here on The Island and with the team.”
Matt Martin, who has spent most of his career with the Islanders, had a close relationship with Gillies and carries an appreciation for the history of the organization.
“When you talk about Potvin and Gillies and Bossy and those guys who won four Cups in a row and brought so much pride to Long Island, to lose these people quickly in a year, it’s pretty tough,” Martin said. “I think we want to come out [Tuesday] and play with a lot of emotion. Just play a good hockey game.”
The Islanders assigned second-round pick Aatu Räty to AHL Bridgeport following the conclusion of his season in the Finnish Liiga with Jukurit. Räty had 40 points in 41 games with Jukurit after starting his season with Kärpät. Trotz said there are no plans for him to make his NHL debut in the final seven games of the season.
Semyon Varlamov was available to play after missing time with a non-COVID illness, but Ilya Sorokin got the start. Oliver Wahlstrom was a healthy scratch for the second straight game.
Butch Goring returned to the MSG broadcast booth after missing time due to shoulder surgery, but Brendan Burke missed the game while in health and safety protocols. … The Bridgeport Islanders signed defenseman Trevor Cosgrove and forwards Koby Bender and Jimmy Lambert.