Sutter Honored by Islanders Hall of Fame Induction

Brent Sutter was overwhelmed with gratitude on Friday, reflecting on his time with the New York Islanders after being named the newest inductee into the team’s Hall of Fame.

“I’m obviously and certainly very, very honored,” Sutter said. “It’s not something you ever think about or expect it and when [Islanders President and General Manager] Lou [Lamoriello] called me and let me know… I was pretty emotional through it all.”

It was a different – and preferable – feeling to that of being an overwhelmed teenager attending his first Islanders Training Camp in 1980.

“The first day I was so nervous and threw up all over the training room,” Sutter said with a laugh. “It wasn’t a great start.”

It was only up from there for Sutter, who was drafted 17^th overall by the Islanders in 1980 and hit great heights with the Islanders over parts of 12 seasons with the team.

How great? Sutter is near the top of almost every Islanders statistical record. His 610 points are sixth all-time. His 287 goals are tied for fifth and his 323 assists are ninth. Even his 761 penalty minutes are 12^th all-time, a toughness likely born out of having six hockey playing brothers and working on the farm in Viking, AB. He also served as the fourth captain in team history, wearing the C from 1987 to 1991.

All that personal success was secondary to winning two Stanley Cups in 1982 and 1983.

“It wasn’t ever about personal goals,” Sutter said. “It was always about getting the most and best out of myself to help a team, help your team succeed and wanting to be a great teammate and wanting to be someone that was very coachable.”

Sutter is the 16^th inductee into the Islanders Hall of Fame, joining the 10 legends with banners in the rafters, as well as Isles Hall of Fame inductees: Ed Westfall, Ken Morrow, Patrick Flatley, Kenny Jonsson and Bob Bourne. The actual induction night will be on Jan. 18 when the Islanders host the San Jose Sharks.

“We are honored to celebrate one of the all-time New York Islanders greats, Brent Sutter,” Lamoriello said via a press 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 stories poured out of Sutter on Friday afternoon as he reminisced on his time with the team. He grew up idolizing Bryan Trottier, waxing about how much the center influenced him and his career. He told stories about Al Arbour toughened him up mentally as a player, but also how he used some of Arbour’s (then) new-age methods on his junior players when Sutter became a coach (and GM and owner) of the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League.

As Sutter reflected through a hockey life well lived, the topic of family came up, as it usually does with one of pro hockey’s most prolific families. Sutter and his brother Duane were teammates for six full seasons together on Long Island and winning two Stanley Cups with a family member emerged as one of Brent’s best memories with the team.

“When you're a player, you take that for granted,” Sutter said. “And you don't realize until you're done the game, how neat it was to play with a brother one, but to win a Stanley Cup with him and not just one year, but two years.”

Sutter had yet to break the news to his brothers at the time of his announcement, but was looking forward to sharing the moment with his entire family. While the hockey playing brothers get a lot of the press, Sutter made sure to thank his mom and late father who helped him on his hockey journey from the start.

“[My mom] should get a lot of credit for it, along with dad, who passed away back in 2005, and my brothers for pushing each other,” Sutter said. “We're still all very close. We still are very connected. Our families are close. We were a very competitive group, but in the right way, and we all pushed each other to be better. They’d be very proud and I'm tremendously honored that that I was selected for this.”

There will be plenty of Sutter stories shared between now and Jan. 18, about the nervous teenager, the two-time champ, the veteran captain and elite point producer. Adding Hall of Fame inductee to that list is a fitting title and a way for the Islanders organization to reciprocate their gratitude for everything Sutter had given them.