New York Islanders are being sold

The New York Islanders announced Tuesday that Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin are buying a substantial minority interest in the team with the plan to eventually run the franchise.

Charles Wang will remain majority owner and governor, but within two years, Ledecky, a former Washington Capitals co-owner, and Malkin, a London-based investor, will become majority owners.

The NHL's board of governors still must approve the arrangement.

By the time of the ownership transfer, the Islanders will be playing at Barclays Center. They will start their final season at Nassau Coliseum this fall, and Wang had been trying for years to get a new arena built in Nassau County before announcing in 2012 that the new Brooklyn arena would be the team's future home.

Wang and Sanjay Kumar purchased the Islanders in 2000, and Wang became full owner in 2004.

Wang tried to make a splash immediately after buying the team with trades for Alexei Yashin and Michael Peca. Yashin was given a 10-year, $87.5 million contract but eventually was bought out.

The team also gave goaltender Rick DiPietro a 15-year, $67.5 million contract in 2006. He suffered numerous injuries, was sent to the American Hockey League and was bought out a little more than year ago.

The Islanders, who won four consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1980s, have made the playoffs twice in the past nine years.