Michael Dean Bossy (born January 22, 1957) is a former Canadian ice hockey player who played for the New York Islanders for his entire career and was a crucial part of their four-year reign as Stanley Cup champions in the early 1980s. Among many other remarkable achievements, he was the only player in NHL history to score consecutive Stanley Cup winning goals, in 1982 and 1983, the only player to record four game-winning goals in one series (1983 Conference Final), is the NHL's all-team leader in average goals scored per regular season game, and is one of only five players to score 50 goals in 50 games.

He started his junior career with Quebec Major Junior Hockey League at the age of 15. Despite scoring 309 goals in four seasons, Bossy was considered a timid player by NHL scouts.

In the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft, he was passed over by twelve teams, with the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs ignoring him twice. However, the New York Islanders made him their first choice, 15th overall. General manager Bill Torrey was torn at first between taking Bossy and another forward. Bossy was known as a scorer who could not check, while the other forward could check but was not very good offensively. Coach Al Arbour persuaded Torrey to pick Bossy, figuring it was easier to teach a scorer how to check. Bossy was placed on a line with Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies, a combination that would come to be known as The Trio Grande, or the "LILCO line" (standing for "Long Island Lighting Company", since their prolific scoring kept the goal lamp lit).

Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC (/ˈɡrɛtski/; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and the NHL itself. He is the leading point-scorer in NHL history, with more assists than any other player has points, and is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, and six All-Star records. In addition to being its greatest scorer, Gretzky was the most gentlemanly superstar in the modern history of the NHL. He won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and performance five times, and he often spoke out against fighting in hockey.

Denis Charles Potvin (born October 29, 1953) is a retired professional ice hockey defenseman and team captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He was a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Islanders in the early 1980s and was also a three-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, and currently serves as a commentator for Ottawa Senators' television broadcasts on Sportsnet.

After a stellar junior hockey career with the Ottawa 67s, Potvin was drafted first overall in the 1973 National Hockey League Amateur Draft by the struggling expansion Islanders, a team which had recorded the worst record in modern National Hockey League (NHL) history the previous season. Right after Bill Torrey drafted Potvin, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Sam Pollock approached Torrey, hoping to trade for Potvin. Pollock's strategy was to offer a "quick-fix" package of mature players to exchange for the top draft pick. Torrey ultimately turned down the offer since he felt that Potvin would be a long-term asset to his team.

Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (pronounced /əˈsaɪ.əsən/; born April 17, 1961) is a retired American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO. He is currently an analyst for CBS Sports primarily on The NFL Today, as well as morning co-host on New York radio station WFAN and Monday Night Football analyst for Westwood One.

Esiason was born in West Islip, New York, and grew up in East Islip, New York, both on Long Island. He attended Timber Point Elementary and East Islip High School, where he graduated in 1979. In high school he was a three-sport varsity player in football, basketball, and baseball. Esiason got the "Boomer" nickname before he was born. His mother, reacting to his constant kicking in the womb, called him "Boomer," and he has kept the name since.

Esiason played college football at the University of Maryland for head coaches Jerry Claiborne and Bobby Ross and offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen. At Maryland, he set 17 school records. Esiason completed 461 of 850 passes (54.2 percent) for 6,169 yards and 42 touchdowns with 27 interceptions. He was a two-time honorable mention All-American in 1982 and 1983. In his final home game he threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to lead a comeback victory over No. 3 North Carolina and seal the ACC title. Esiason graduated with a B.A. in 1984 and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999. He is today the best-known former Terrapin football players.