New York Islanders x Mike Bossy [1981-1982]

This is becoming a very expensive hobby. But whatever, I'm glad to be back for another post for Jersey Sunday. Today's feature is my New York Islanders Mike Bossy uniform.
Fun fact: The letter "I" in "Islanders" points at the direct location of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, New York; their home arena since 1972.


I won the jersey online and was on the fence as to whom I wanted on the back. The Islanders of the 80s were a very dominant team. But I decided to go with Mike Bossy because he's one of the greatest goal scorers of all time and #22 also happens to be the same numbers of our birthdays. I know Starter was not the manufacturer of uniforms in the early 80s, but this was the closest I could get to one. I highly doubt anyone will notice anyways. I also wanted very specific font for the numbers. The team changed it up a bit year after year. I'll get to why I wanted this particular shape.
Thanks again to Joe from SportZone for the great job. Check out the matching action figure too.


I also won this vintage New York Islanders snapback online.


Made by Apex One, it sports a white and orange stripe on the side, which is a perfect match with the jersey. The team logo is also embroidered on the back for that added flare.


Michael Dean Bossy was born on 22 January 1957 in Montreal, QB and played for the Laval National of the QMJHL from 1972-77. After 5 seasons as a junior, the 20-year old right winger was drafted 15th overall by the New York Islanders in 1977.


During his contract negotiations, Mike Bossy predicted he would have a 50 goal season. A bold statement by a youngster who has not yet skated on professional ice. However, he would finish the season with 53 goals - a record that stood for 15 years. He would earn a spot in the NHL All-Star Game and recieve the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie. The young French-Canadian would be placed on the same line as Clark Gillies and Bryan Trottier and were nicknamed "The Trio Grande."
In Mike Bossy's sophomore year, he would again reach the 50 goal mark finishing the year with 69 goals and totalling 126 points in the 1978-79 season.


In the 1980-81 season, Mike Bossy duplicated one of the greatest goal scoring performances in league history. He was on pace to score 50 goals in 50 games. No other player has done so since the 1944-45 season when another French-Canadian born right winger named Maurice Richard set that record. With 48 goals going into his 50th game, Bossy hit the back of the net twice in the dying minutes of a home game against the Quebec Nordiques.
Between 1980-1983, the New York Islanders would help Long Island become home of a dynasty, winning the Stanley Cup in 4 straight years. One highlighted playoff moment was in 1982 when he scored the series clinching goal on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. With 17 goals and 10 assists, he recieved the Conn Smythe Trophy. Seeing how this was his best performance in the playoffs, I wanted my jersey to have the exact same number font of that season. Mike Bossy is considered to be one of the best pure goal scorers in league history and his .762 goals per game and 21.18 shooting percentage are at the top of the all-time leaders list. He is also the first, and so far only, player to have 50+ goals in 9 straight seasons. In 752 regular season games played, he has 573 goals and 553 assists for a total of 1126 points. In 129 playoff appearances, he has a total of 160 points with 85 goals. For a player with only 10 NHL seasons on his resume, he is one of the fastest individuals to accumulate the number of goals he's earned. Throughtout his playing days, Mike Bossy has been an outspoken advocate to ban fighting in the league. Citing his opinion that it's not meant to be a part of the game nor a good image for the young kids watching. For his graceful sportsmanlike conduct, he was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy 3 times in his career. Unfortunately, his time in the the National Hockey League was cut short. Chronic back problems would limit his playing abilities and retired from the game in 1987. In 1991, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and one year later, the #22 was retired by the New York Islanders organization in his honour. Mike Bossy represented Team Canada twice in two Canada Cup Tournaments. His first came in 1981 where the Soviets ousted them in the gold medal game, and again in 1984. In the latter year, he would score in OT against USSR in the semis to lead Canada to the finals and the eventual championship. Career Highlights & Awards: Calder Trophy [1978], 4x Stanley Cup Champion [1980-83], Conn Smythe Award [1982], 7x NHL All-Star [1978, 1980-83, 1985-86], 3x Lady Byng Award [1983-84, 1986], Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee [1991], jersey #22 retired by the New York Islanders. Legends of Hockey: Mike Bossy "We never got one millionth of the recognition we should . . . People don't talk about us in the first mention of great teams." - Mike Bossy on the New York Islanders