Isles put Flatley in their Hall of Fame
Islanders Hall of Fame player Pat Flatley greets Mark Streit as the team enters the ice for the pre-game ceremony honoring Flatley. (Jan. 14, 2012) Credit: David Pokress
Pat Flatley's reaction when Islanders general manager Garth Snow informed the former Islanders captain that Flatley would be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame was a curious one.
"I asked him, 'Are you sure?' " Flatley said Saturday before his induction ceremony, the third the Islanders have held this season. Ed Westfall and Ken Morrow already have had their nights, and Kenny Jonsson will be honored on Feb. 11.
"There are a lot of guys I feel are very worthy to be in here who aren't at this point," Flatley said. "I'm extremely flattered and humbled."
Joined by 25 friends and family and one popular ex-teammate, Mick Vukota, who is the Isles' all-time leader in penalty minutes, Flatley saw his name stitched onto the Hall of Fame banner and raised to the Nassau Coliseum rafters.
Flatley captained the 1992-93 Islanders, the last squad to win a playoff series. He came along at the end of the dynasty years, with fellow rookie Pat LaFontaine, after the 1984 Olympics and helped energize a group of championship veterans. Flatley had nine goals in the 1984 playoffs, in which the Isles lost to the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Injuries limited Flatley's production, but not his value over 13 Islanders seasons, the last five of which, 1992-96, he was captain.
DiPietro also has knee swelling
Oft-injured G Rick DiPietro, scheduled for surgery on a sports hernia on Tuesday, is also listed as needing rest for swelling in his knee. DiPietro has had two surgeries on his left knee.
