Done
are the days of making new memories in the Old Barn, but the Islanders’ magical
run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs was certainly a great way to close the
lights in Uniondale.
“It's
a special building for this organization,” said Josh Bailey during media
availability at the Coliseum on Monday. “It's meant so much to us
playing there.”
The
Nassau Coliseum was where the Isles’ dynasty was born in the 1980s and where
legends lived on in the rafters. But every year, game after game, it was the
people in the stands that gave the Old Barn life.
“You
can feel it, there are a lot of buildings that are loud, but this one
just has a different sort of tone to it,” said Cal Clutterbuck.
This
year, the tone started with the quietness of cardboard fans and then ended with
the pandemonium of the playoffs. Coach Barry Trotz said that the playoff run
“helped the Island heal” after a hard pandemic-stricken year.
“It
was, I use the term, medicine for this area, for the fan base,” he said.
The
Islanders will move to UBS Arena at Belmont Park next season. The first game
there has not yet been announced.