Worst Season Ever

Before you go off and say that's terrible, keep in mind that it only really applies to two teams this season: the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils.  This was previously talked about in a piece a few weeks ago, but now that the Islanders have raised the equivalent of the white flag and the Devils are well on their way to threatening the 1992-93 Ottawa Senators for worst season ever (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but still...), one has to wonder where these two teams will rank in the annals of worst seasons ever.

First, let's look at three of the worst teams ever: the 1974-75 Washington Capitals and the 1992-93 Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks.  Both the Caps and Senators were in their first year of NHL existence in their respective years.  However, no team will ever be worse than the 1974-75 Capitals, not even this year's Devils, who have one more point right now (22) than the Caps did their entire first season.  How bad was it for the Caps that year?  Besides only having 21 points in the standings, they went through three different head coaches and were literally set back for years with a misfire of their first ever draft pick (Greg Joly in 1974).

The Ottawa Senators came close to being the worst team ever in 1992-93.  Along with the San Jose Sharks, the Senators had only 24 points in their first season.  Because the team had such low expectations, they considered that season a success, as they ended up with the first overall pick in 1993, who turned out to be Alexandre Daigle, widely considered one of the draft's biggest busts.  Meanwhile, the Sharks ended up with the most losses in the NHL ever.  Where the similarities end for the Sens and Sharks is that the Sharks made the playoffs the following season while the Sens continued to be basement dwellers until 1996.

Now, what does this have to do with the Isles and Devils this season?  Well, the Islanders have been awful since 1995, going through jersey makeovers approximately five times (if someone would like to earn a prize, count the number of times the Isles changed home and away jerseys since 1995.  Alternate jerseys do not count).  They have not won a playoff series since 1993, and have a history of notoriously bad contracts.  This year, bad luck in the injury department has made a trip back to respectability a tough road to hoe, and with a 14 game losing streak this season, it's no wonder the Isles waved the white flag on the season, trading James Wisniewski to Montreal and Dwayne Roloson to Tampa Bay in the past week.

At least the Islanders can actually make moves.  The Devils can't really say the same thing.  Beginning with the ludicrous 15 year contract totalling $100 million for Ilya Kovalchuk, the Devils have dug a hole for themselves this season.  Coaching changes since 1995 are nothing new to the Devils; however, this year has been a comedy of errors on all fronts.  Kovalchuk hasn't lived up to half of the contract, Martin Brodeur has been injured and the goaltending behind him isn't even close to being competent, and the Devils have suited up less than the league maximum more than once.  One has to wonder if the Devils will even be able to sign whoever they take in the first round in this year's NHL draft.