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New York Islanders
Overall: 73
Title track: 61
Ownership: 101
Coaching: T107
Players: 40
Fan relations: 61
Affordability: 86
Stadium experience: 112
Bang for the buck: 32
Change from last year: +43
The Islanders are doing the reverse commute from now on, keeping their practice facility on Long Island and playing their home games at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The franchise also has changed direction in our standings. After posting a triple-digit number five times in a six-year span, the Isles have their best ranking since coming in at No. 57 in our inaugural standings in 2003.
What's good
The stars aligned perfectly last season: The Isles had their first 100-point season since the glory days of Al Arbour, and fans wanted to soak up one last campaign at Nassau Coliseum before the move out of Nassau County. Home attendance spiked to an average of 15,334, a 15 percent increase from two years ago. John Tavares might be the most overlooked superstar in the New York area but not among Islanders faithful: The club jumped 49 points in our players ranking. There hasn't been a Stanley Cup on Long Island since 1983, but fans see a positive trend under once-maligned GM Garth Snow with the club vaulting 32 points to 61st in title track.
What's bad
This is the last time we can kick around the cramped and outdated Coliseum, where the No. 112 ranking in stadium experience actually represents a 10-spot improvement from 2014. It might have ranked 122nd and dead last in stadium experience five times in the past seven years, but it will always have a special place in the hearts of no-frills Islanders fans who experienced -- or heard stories about -- the four Stanley Cups of the 1980s. After the final playoff game on Long Island, the Coliseum big screen advertised season tickets in Brooklyn. It was booed.
What's new
Long Island is an expensive place to live, but the average ticket price of $49.21 was $13 below the NHL average. Tailgating was a popular tradition at Nassau Coliseum, where the $8.25 tab for parking was the second-lowest price in the NHL. Throw in a good product on the ice (and the Isles' first winning record in a full-length season since 2007) and you find a 64-point improvement in bang for the buck and a 46-point surge in fan relations.
Next: New Jersey Devils | Full rankings