(Photo supplied by the New York Islanders)

By Ian Gustafson

Hockey Legend

Rebels owner Brent Sutter to be inducted into New York Islanders Hall of Fame

Nov 8, 2024 | 3:31 PM

The New York Islanders will be honouring a local hockey legend later this season.

On Friday, the historic National Hockey League (NHL) franchise announced Brent Sutter will be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame.

He told rdnewsNOW that’s he’s very honoured but explained it’s an accomplishment he never expected nor thought about during his playing career.

“[Islanders President Lou Lamoriello] was the one who reached out to me and let me know.,” Sutter said on Friday.

“I was drafted there back in the 80s and traded from there in 1991 and as you get older you look back on your career and I was very fortunate to be able to play as long as I did.”

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Brent, his wife Connie, and children Merrick, Brandon, and Brooke will head to New York to be inducted during the Islanders matchup against the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 18.

The Islanders will honour Sutter with an on-ice ceremony, which will include a tribute video and appearances by former Islanders teammates.

Sutter will also have his name unveiled on the Islanders ring of honour and have a plaque added to the Hall of Fame wall located at the main entrance of the rink.

“We are honoured to celebrate one of the all-time New York Islanders greats, Brent Sutter,” Lamoriello said in a media release.

“Brent was a key member of the 1982 and 1983 Stanley Cup championship teams and was a leader, serving as the fourth team captain in club history. He took pride in his role and epitomized what an Islander is all about.”

The product of Viking, Alberta was drafted 17th overall by the Islanders at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft and played 12 seasons for the organization.

Sutter was selected by New York a month after they had won the 1980 Stanley Cup so he explained he learned quickly about what it takes to win at the highest level.

He said it was an incredible feeling to be taken by the Islanders because it wasn’t a team he was expected to be drafted by.

That year he was playing for the Red Deer Rustlers as a 17-year-old, where he put up 171 points in 59 games in the AJHL.

During that time, Sutter spent time with the Calgary Flames and the New York Rangers scouts.

“When the draft came about, I was thinking it was going to be one of those two teams and then Calgary took a player before me but the Rangers selected 18th. I went 17th to the Islanders so I was quite surprised,” he said.

Sutter didn’t attend the draft and was working for a gas company in Viking. As the Islanders selected him in the first round he was welding gates in the back yard, until he received a phone call.

“The boss had came out and told me I was wanted on the phone. It was about 10:30 in the morning, I went in and it was GM William Torrey,” Sutter said.

“At the time I was thinking, ‘Oh my god I’m going to the team that had just won the Stanley Cup.’ To go to my first camp all the players were just incredible the way they just brought you in. You learn quickly what it’s like to be a champion at that level.”

In 694 games, Sutter scored 610 points (287 goals and 323 assists), which is sixth all-time in franchise history.

He also helped the Islanders win the Stanley Cup in 1982 and 1983 and ranks ninth all-time in franchise history in even strength points with 417.

He also ranks ninth all-time in even strength goals with 185, 10th all-time with 37 game-winning goals, eighth all-time with 176 power-play points, fifth all-time with 90 power-play goals, and eighth all-time with 12 short-handed goals.

“To understand what it took to be a pro and be around guys that were Stanley Cup champions, I learned a lot through that,” he added.

“I learned quickly how important every day is and so you might say I was trained well.”

In March of 1982, Sutter was called up by the Islanders from the Lethbridge Broncos of the WHL and remained in New York for the next 12 years.

That same season he won his first Stanley Cup after defeating the Vancouver Canucks and again the next season against the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers.

That marked the Islanders’ fourth consecutive time lifting Lord Stanley. They nearly, had a fifth but the Oilers got their revenge in 1984.

“I was very fortunate to play with great players and have a great coaching staff. To go to a championship team and be a part of that you learn a lot of great things in an early time in your career,” Sutter added.

“Everything is at the next level when you’re a Stanley Cup champion and there’s a lot of players that never got that opportunity.