Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Episode 45 - Al Montoya (with guest Nick Giglia)

Islanders Anxiety: A New York Islanders podcast

Joined by returning guest Nick Giglia, we celebrate goalie Al Montoya, who took a long road to the NHL and looked for a half season like more found money for the scrappy Islanders. Montoya had all the makings of an Islanders villain including getting drafted high by the Rangers and a preseason fight against Rick DiPietro. But after years of being blocked by other goalies on nearly every team he was on, a rash of injuries across the country and a favor by a sympathetic GM landed him on Long Island in the middle of an already crazy season. Montoya joined Michael Grabner, Jack Capuano and the rest of the scrapheap Isles in what would be an exciting if futile run at a playoff berth, all done against the backdrop of an also futile run at a new arena through a referendum vote. "El Cubano Grande" remains a favorite of ours, and Nick walks us through his memories of this wild season, some unbelievable facts that changed Montoya's fortunes and the unfortunate crash that ended his Islanders tenure far too soon.

Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

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Visit our friends:

• Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
• The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
• Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
• Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com.

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