The Bridgeport Islanders, in honor of their 25th season as the New York Islanders’ affiliate, made every Saturday home game “Sound Tigers Saturdays” with throwback jerseys and the whole nine yards. The irony, of course, with this team being the Sound Tigers, is that their silence is deafening, especially in recent days.
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The Saturday game is their first home game since the rumor of their relocation to Hamilton, Ontario leaked out. This rumor surfaced in the summer but now, the fans are starting to hear about it. Frank Seravalli was the first to report it, and an article in The Athletic by Eric Stephens and Pierre LeBrun explains how the move is progressing.
To put it bluntly, Bridgeport and the Islanders are going through a divorce, and they don’t want anyone to see. They don’t want the fans, and they certainly don’t want the media around. Instead, the fans are left to speculate until the team releases a statement. This saga is putting years of mistreatment on full display. The fans deserve better, and they are getting the worst.
Bridgeport’s Move to Hamilton, Ontario
It’s the worst-kept secret in the AHL this season. Hamilton has the arena built, and everything is in place for them to land an AHL team. If they had the arena ready in the summer, there’s a good chance that the relocation happens in the 2025 offseason and not 2026. The only surprise is that the news is starting to become public now and not in February, when teams push ticket sales, and a Hamilton group would want to get things rolling.
Most fans were suspicious but didn’t have confirmation that the Islanders were on the way out. Alan Fuehring, who was the play-by-play broadcaster and ran the media relations for the AHL team, was promoted to the New York Islanders. That doesn’t raise eyebrows per se but when they hired Jason Shaya as his replacement, that did, especially since there was no mention about the community or the fans in the statement.
Something many casual hockey fans ask is why the Islanders would relocate to Hamilton, especially when Bridgeport is well-located for both the AHL teams in the area and the NHL affiliate. There are enough reasons to fill a book (looking at you, Ted Starkey) but here are some.
- Mathieu Darche has experience with a distant AHL affiliate as the assistant General Manager (GM) of the Tampa Bay Lightning and GM of the Syracuse Crunch.
- The Islanders never had a foothold in enemy territory. Fairfield County is New York Rangers country.
- The Islanders never had a good relationship with the area, and when the ballpark next to Total Mortgage Arena was transformed into a concert venue, the relationship between the team and the city was damaged beyond repair.
- The team itself is terrible. In 24 years, they made the playoffs 10 times and only advanced past Round 1 twice. In recent years, they were run into the ground by GM Lou Lamoriello, culminating in a historically bad 2024-25 season.
The Islanders remain quiet through all the news, rumors, and speculation. It’s hard to keep things under wraps, and in sports, the teams that avoid the outside noise are the ones that get ahead of it. The Islanders refuse to put out a statement, and certainly haven’t put out a fire that is tearing through the fanbase in the past week. It’s a reflection of their time in the area and how the organization has treated the fans, who still show up regardless of the results.
Bridgeport’s Silence Reflects Years of Mistreatment
The AHL, by nature, caters to the fans with family-friendly or kid-friendly promotions and theme nights. Long-time season ticket holders noted last season that the Islanders used to have meet-and-greets with the players, allowing them to get autographs and talk to the top prospects in the Islanders system. When Lamoriello arrived, they got rid of it all.
The Islanders also used to treat the media and the scouts well, something talent evaluators and veteran writers have mentioned when talking about the changes. While Bridgeport provides food to those covering the game, they’ve scaled back over the years.
On a personal note, the Islanders were my foot in the door. They were the first team to provide media access and provide a path to cover the AHL. That said, it was the only experience for a season, and with that comes Stockholm syndrome. I was told that the Islanders don’t do postgame media after losses or wouldn’t have availability on the road, both of which violate league policy (I discovered this after traveling around the league).
The Islanders started improving with Darche in charge, or at least overseeing the organization. There’s plenty of optimism surrounding the NHL team, especially after a successful retool in one offseason, and the same breath of fresh air was felt in the AHL. That said, the Islanders, in many ways, are still operating like they have in the past and have their foot out the door.
Bridgeport Mirrors Arizona & The Fans Are The Ones Who Suffer
The Islanders were arguably the worst team in AHL history last season. They went 15-50-4-3 and only won four games at home. There were more months in the season (seven) than home wins. Seasons like these require a significant overhaul, and Darche went to work.
The Rocky Thompson hire was a home run. While his system is flawed, the pace and pressure it generates get the most out of the prospects, notably, players like Alex Jefferies and Matthew Maggio, two forwards who took a step back under the previous coaching staff. The Islanders entered their Friday night game against the Hartford Wolf Pack on a five-game winning streak, and for the first time in a while, they looked like a team that turned a corner and was building something.
Then came the reports on Thursday and the game on Friday. The Islanders looked a step behind and like a distracted team. Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny, who is under plenty of pressure in his own right, was asked after the game how he ignores the outside noise. He responded, “Half the time I don’t even know what’s going on, to be honest. We just kind of live in our world and try to win the day.” The Wolf Pack won the game 3-2 but they were in control from the opening puck drop against an Islanders team that’s had their number for most of this season.
The Islanders followed things up with their home game against the Providence Bruins. They earned a point but blew a 2-0 lead and lost 4-2 in a shootout. The Bruins are one of the best teams in the AHL, and earning a point against them goes a long way. Yet, they haven’t looked like the same team since the rumors started circulating.
Bridgeport pain, someone else’s gain?
It’s a long season, and the Islanders are still in sixth place in the Atlantic Division. They have plenty of time to become a great team, and with Ethan Bear and Perrick Dube becoming regulars, they should be fine. However, there’s a good chance things unravel from here. The Arizona Coyotes started struggling in 2023-24 when the rumors started to surface but nothing was official. When Ryan Smith came on the scene in January 2024 as an owner interested in bringing a team to Utah, the Coyotes declined. Once the news was official, they fell apart. Relocation rumors always hurt a team, and if the front office and leaders don’t shut them down, it only makes things worse.
The Islanders might leave Bridgeport with a whimper, and it’s the fans who suffer the most. They deserve better and never got it. It’s a shame because the area is set up to be a great hockey market. In sports, it’s better to have angry fans over disinterested fans. Fans who care and are frustrated, instead of fans who have given up on the team. In the Islanders’ case, they’ve mistreated the fans to the point where there is minimal interest, and it’s reflected in their attendance. They still have fans but they were driven away by the team they support.
