Ex-Islanders star praises team's ‘strong base,' veteran mix: 'A Stanley Cup champion is not built overnight'

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Former New York Islanders captain Mark Streit has high expectations for his former team after it began its 2023 campaign with a win at home over the Buffalo Sabres. 

But the one-time Stanley Cup champion cautioned that, in the NHL, anything is possible. 

Streit, who played four seasons with the Islanders and became the first Swiss-born team captain in league history, spoke to Fox News Digital recently about his expectations for the Islanders after a disappointing first-round exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year. 

Captain Mark Streit (2) of the New York Islanders keeps the puck away from Tomas Plekanec (14) of the Montreal Canadiens during a game Dec. 13, 2011, at the Bell Centre in Montreal.  (Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

"To be honest, the east, especially the [Metropolitan] division, it's strong. There's a lot of good teams," Streit said.

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"It's just having a good start. You know, so many seasons, I was on teams where the start wasn't that great, and you just try to catch up throughout the year. And that's usually really tough. So, it's a very tough division the Islanders are in, but they have a really good team."

The Islanders have made playoff appearances in four of the last five seasons. In the 2020-2021 season, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup semifinals. The previous year, they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals.  

"It's tough to predict," Streit said of the Islanders' chances of hoisting