It’s shorely a good fit.
Dozens of New York Islanders alumni, hailing from all over Canada and elsewhere, have happily stuck around Long Island after their playing days, embracing a totally different way of life as everyday New Yorkers after the ice melts.
“I will never leave. I love it,” Ontario-born Islander Eric Cairns, who was with the team from 1998 to 2004, told The Post on the eve of the 2025-26 NHL season began.
It’s a stark contrast from when the big bruising defenseman used to hightail it off Long Island after the season ended during his playing days. He missed some of Long Island’s best offerings in the summer and was mainly exposed to just the Nassau Coliseum and the busy Hempstead Turnpike during the dreary winters.
Cairns only got a better glimpse after taking a job as the team’s director of player development and was here year-round, ultimately settling down near the Great South Bay in West Islip.
“I just fell in love with it differently,” said Cairns, 51, who quickly became infatuated with LI’s beaches, fantastic golf courses, and a woman from Massapequa named Kimberly, whom he married soon into his executive tenure.
Quebec’s Benoît Hogue, who spent four seasons with the Isles from 1991 to 1995, also settled on the island after his 2002 retirement — mainly to hit the gorgeous waters during summer.
“I had my boat here for 17 years,” said the French Canadian forward, 58, now living in Babylon.
“Now I do lots of motorcycle riding — I decided to switch it up.”
Breaking the ice
Much of the reason for the moves is thanks to the initiative taken by Ed Westfall, the Islanders’ first-ever captain, from the inaugural 1972 season through 1977.
“My first thought was, where’s Long Island?” said the Ontario-born Westfall, who had won two Stanley Cups with the Boston Bruins before changing teams to the then-new Islanders.
“The closest I ever was came was on a train from Boston to play the Rangers,” added the 85-year-old, who lives in Manhasset.
Westfall’s time on LI was rough and lonely at first.
His attitude changed after meeting with Islanders general manager Bill Torrey, who encouraged Westfall to stop “feeling sorry for myself” and embrace the change of scenery. He soon started helping other teammates do the same.
He helped find housing for players who were new to the unfamiliar hockey territory, to better help them get situated.
“I never liked to see what I had gone through,” the right-winger said outside of a public skating rink in Calverton, LI, named in his honor.
“I didn’t like to see guys have to live in a motel or a hotel.”
Westfall soon helped establish a Long Island-loving culture among dozens of former players for over 50 years.
A new home bench
Beyond indulging in the natural local beauty, players like Hogue and Cairns, who both helped build an Islanders-themed playground at Glen Cove’s YMCA on Monday, have been deeply committed to local involvement since settling down.
“We’re just part of the community. I’m a regular guy and that’s part of what I love,” said Cairns.
Stanley Cup winner Hogue also coached youth hockey on the North Shore for the past five years — all as a labor of love.
“I was going to do it for one year, but the parents were good and the kids, I just loved them and I didn’t want to quit on them,” Hogue said of his Rebels squad that plays in Dix Hills’ Clark Gillies Arena, named for the late, iconic team alum.
“And, if I tried, the parents would have said ‘no, no, no, you’re not going anywhere,’” he joked.
It also helps that the alumni typically receive standing ovations when they are shown at home games inside UBS Arena.
“Going to numerous games now really makes you enjoy Long Island,” said Hogue, who is admired for the 1993 team’s incredible playoff upset over Mario Lemieux’s two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
Westfall, too, receives praise for his groundwork that led to the team’s four straight Stanley Cups from 1979 to 1983 — and even Cairns still gets love for punching out Maple Leafs’ Shayne Corson in the 2002 playoffs.
“The fan base is our heart and soul,” said Cairns.
“They’re part of the team with the support that we feel on the ice — and even afterward.”
