 Undrafted, he signed with the New York Islanders, who were looking to add toughness and muscle to their roster, on March 2, 1987.Vukota worked his way up through their system and found himself skating on NHL ice by the end of the 1987–88 season, also scoring his first goal.Also, perhaps more significantly, he registered 82 penalty minutes in 17 games on the way to becoming his team's top enforcer.