2005–06 New York Islanders season

The 2005–06 New York Islanders season was the 34th season in the franchise's history. On March 14, 2006, the Islanders trailed the Montreal Canadiens by five points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but won only five of their final 18 games to finish 12th in the East. Their 12th place finish meant that, for the first time since the 2000–01 season, the team would not qualify for the playoffs.

Offseason
Forward Alexei Yashin was named team captain, replacing the traded Michael Peca.

Regular season
After having lost eight of their previous nine games, the Islanders fired head coach Steve Stirling on January 12 and replaced him on an interim basis with assistant coach Brad Shaw. It was also announced that general manager Mike Milbury would step away from that position once a successor was hired.

Schedule and results

 * Legend:
 * Legend:

Scoring

 * Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
 * † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
 * ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.

Transactions
The Islanders were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

Draft picks
New York's draft picks at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario.