It is not a stretch to pinpoint the source of many of the issues that have plagued the Islanders; the ownership situation. Islanders fans know exactly what I am talking about, and while the trials and tribulations of the Islander faithful don’t exactly register outside of Long Island, some of the more sordid moments have become pretty famous (Does anyone remember a man by the name of John Spano?).
Longtime Islander owner Charles Wang was, self-admittedly, not a hockey fan. His purchase of the Islanders in 2001 was strictly done as an avenue towards real-estate success. When the Lighthouse Project referendum failed in 2011, that path was decidedly closed, and so Wang was left with very few options for the future of the franchise.