On the Islanders Beat

Hopefully Snow will interveiw all of this candidates and not quickly hire the guy he knows best.

Garth should see if one of the Marx Brothers is available to fill the void behind the bench.

Are you kidding me? Gotta love the Isles Files part about devoted fans and their tattoos. Good luck finding someone with an Isles one. Why would someone waste their money on an Islanders tattoo only to need to have it removed when Wang relocates the team after his Lighthouse Project is rejected by the Town of Hempstead?

does anyone feel that any of these retreads is a better coach than Ted Nolan??? I don't. We had a good coach but the ex-backup goalie got rid of him. hey garth, nice trade getting ryan smyth for a month.

"Retreads"? Do you try to sound dumb to be funny or does it just come naturally?

ANYWAY, glad Garth seems to be taking his time so far to find someone who is with the program. Hartley is a good choice, as are a number of interested coaches. Trottier likes him, too. We'll see.

I find it odd that some of these guys with NHL experience want to coach this disaster. Out of all of them Quinnevelle seems to have the best track record...but Frei already made the point that Snowy will probably choose his buddy. As long as its not Torts we'll be ok

I think you can make an argument that a coach with a Stanley Cup ring might be better than a coach who only has a regular season award on his resmue.

Hey Anonymous: Nobody said it was not a word, it just makes no sense whatsoever in context. How the hell does calling them "to make over as if new"s make any sense at all in your anonymous little world?

You can't really win Metalchick ...if they hire a retread coach people will complain - if they hire an AHL coach people will complain because they don't know him ...

Which is why I'm taking a long break from posting here ...I'll read Greg's blog, but not anyones comments and I don't know when/if I'll ever post on here again. This blog has turned to crap ...all of the "anon" posters - many of whom are regulars here ...all of these negative Isles "fans" ...between Frei and Brian G's nonsense it really makes posting here a drag ...

Certainly enjoyed posting with some of you - Steady, Nick, 19 Isles, Mass, SW and anyone else I cant think of off the top of my head ...

Take Care ...

AZS

"...This blog has turned to crap ...all of the "anon" posters - many of whom are regulars here ...all of these negative Isles "fans" ..."

I know exactly what you mean, AZS.

AZS--Why are you announcing your intentions to ignore the blog? Just do it. I suspect its an attention getting ploy, just like the children who talk silly crap on this blog. MetalChick and the grammar are case and point. Grow up.

greg, thxs for the update.

AZS - just ignore the trolls...they will go away soon enough. You have some GREAT input...Stick around!

The post on the last blog was not me by the way...Duhhh...Something about Messier and canadiens or soemthing. God you would think the kid got bored!?!

I think we can all tell when it is really us or not. It is one troll making up a bunch of different names......Who cares. Just ignore!

I have made my pick for our new coach. Quenneville .... Read up on him on top of all I already knew......He would be my pick! Just an opinion!

Steady, I agree. My preference would be for Quenneville. There's a suprisingly accomplished goup of coaches unemployed right now but it seems with Quenneville's track record and what I've read about his coaching approach, he'd be the best fit for this club right now.

AZS

Just take a break, and come back when it will only be us regulars on here. Always enjoy your comments so don't stop.

Steady:

I'm with you on this one with Quenneville. I don't know about Hartley, or Maurice, but I would feel more secure with Quenneville as coach, because he does have the patience to develop the young players here.

Whoops. Dictionary entry was mine. This thing has gone filter-happy again, I must have opened a new window.

MetalChick, the way it reads would be "does anyone think that these (coaches made over as new) would be better than Ted Nolan?" This makes absolutely perfect sense and does in no way "sound dumb" unless your grasp of the English language is deficient. But anyway...

The answer to the question is no, they are not likely to be any better than Ted Nolan.

As I have already written, and mass has noted, Hartley will be the next coach of the team. Given the egregious amounts of nepotism seen throughout the history of the Wang era, if you cannot see this, well, you probably can't be helped.

Since when has any meaningful position in Islander management been filled based on qualification, anyway?

I don't really know that much about Quenneville, except that he seems to be another horse on the NHL coaches merry-go-round.

I know I don't want Hartley, who was run out of Atlanta.

I know I don't want Gallant, who was just awful as the PP coach.

I know I don't want some no name brand college or AHL guy.

I know Maurice sucked with Toronto and they had Sundin and we don't. So I don't want him.

So that brings me around to Torterella. Does he have the patience to develop young talent? I don't know?
Will he be able to deal with crybaby DP? Still don't know?
Can he take this bunch to a new level? Beats me?

But, I know that the guy hates to lose and that the fire in his belly burns hot. I know that he's got passion and an explosive temper and that he doesn't pull any punches.

I'm sick to death of losing. I want somebody in here who can kick some ass. Last year was like watching a zombie movie, as guys just went through the motions. We need a guy here with that inner drive to win, no matter what. We need someone who can't sleep at night after losing a game. We need someone who brings fire and brimstone to a losing team.

So, I guess that I want Torterella. Because nobody else answers that description............Sir William

"Certainly enjoyed posting with some of you - Steady, Nick, 19 Isles, Mass, SW"

Damn,

I didn't make AZS' Top 5 list.
Geez AZS, I guess it's time to put my foam finger away until the start of the season.

Sigh....

Okay, Bob "Hava" Hartley is up next.
What are the odds of Kovalchuk coming with him?
Less than Sundin coming with Paul "The Rocket" Maurice?
Okay, never mind.
Snow's old buddy Hartley.
Hmmm...

Bill, Tortorella has been discussed and is the wrong choice. I will repost my views here verbatim:

"Anyone thinking Tortorella is a good idea is an idiot and should go shoot themselves in the face right now. If Nolan is a "Players Coach", as we've all been led to believe since the long-long ago, and can motivate and get the very, very most out of his players, then John Tortorella is the diametrical opposite. He's the guy that just got fired for being an insufferable a hole to his players and completely losing their respect. That won't go very far on a talentless team that cannot score and thusly cannot win or compete. Here's what happens: the team loses all the time. So he yells and screams and stomps his feet and players realize he's a douche and tune him out, and then you have little mutinies and cliques in the locker room and more division on top of the already inexcusable losing and well that just isn't very much fun now, is it? So stop the Tortorella BS. At least, learn to spell his name before you make him head coach."

And that still stands. Firey, yelling, screaming a-hole types are for teams with talent that underachieve and need their asses kicked. That is not what this team is. Since this team is devoid of talent, no matter how much you kick its ass, it wont make a difference. Accept this, and move on.

FREI...."Anyone thinking Tortorella is a good idea is an idiot and should go shoot themselves in the face right now"

I don't have to read any further than that.........Sir William

Bill,

Excellent! Then the possibility exists that you are learning. However, you still use flawed, circular logic to make cases for both sides of an argument, which, of course, I easily break and disprove.

Where are the empirical arguments for Tortorella, aside from him being "Firey" and you being "Sick of Losing"?

I've shown and communicated why he is the wrong choice. Prove me wrong with some logical arguments, and I will again disassemble them. Until that time, give up on Tortorella, or as I said, at least learn to spell his name properly. Is that too much to ask?

You will notice you are alone in advocating his hiring. You will remain there.

FREI ....You are right!! It's TortOrella. Just goes to show that there's a first time for everything..........Sir William

BILL

See, you're learning! Its apparently slow going, but progress is progress, especially around here. Congrats.

-Frei

Frei... Thanks for pointing that out for me. I really appreicate it.....Sir William

A survival guide to your team's nuclear winter

"Keep the faith. Just know that something will break right some day, some way, and endure for more than a season or two. It may take a century, but hey, the Red Sox and White Sox have won three of the last four World Series, so anything is possible."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/john_rolfe/07/21/nuclear.winter/index.html?eref=T1

Islanders Follies

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0807/nhl.islanders.follies/content.1.html?eref=T1

The above is something to read. If your like me always looking for something to read about the NYI in the summer here's some more.

Wait two days ago SI was bias and 100% against the Islanders, Snow and Wang.
Now we're posting comments about keeping the faith from SI.
Which is it?

The back up goalie is interviewing for open positions?
Man, someone wake me up!

Isles fans probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that owner Charles Wang and GM Garth Snow have hired Colin Powell to replace recently departed coach Ted Nolan

OMG!

Frei-

You are so off base it is scary. It is no secret I trash Snow and Wang daily and point out my reasons why. Yet, you trash absolutely EVERYTHING this team does. Thes second you got on the teams Defense, your gig was up!

I called you out as a Rangers fan last year and I was correct. I don not care what you post, that is the truth. Go and re-read half of your posts. It shines through you like the dirt under a Rags fans finger nails.

I loved Nolan as our coach. Again, no big secret there. Yet he HAD TO GO or Snow had to go....I wanted Snow gone, but that did not happen. I do think it was a bad decision, but now we need a new coach. If the new coach is exactly like Nolan, yet gets along with Snow and they will work hard together....THAT IS AWESOME!!! IF you liked Nolan, than you should want someone like him!

I am in Quenneville's corner. He did well with the Av's and then ran into a buzz saw called Detroit. His team was banged up, and they would of never beat the Wings anyway. Call it a HUNCH....Call it an Oracle moment....Call it what you want.....I think he is the guy for the job! Not saying I know everything about him or any of these guys, except for what we read......Just have a hunch.

Too bad the Oracle already had the previous vision of a no name coming here....Ughhhhhhhhhh

SIR WILLIMA - So that brings me around to Torterella. Does he have the patience to develop young talent?

Huh? You don’t know if he has “the patience to develop young talent” but you want to him to coach a team whose entire stated plan is to develop young talent?

Forget the lighthouse project and relocate the team somewhere else on the island. This team needs a new image and a new location. You want to rebuild....then start fresh somewhere else. This team stinks, the owner and GM stink. They said if their rebuilding plan works we, as fans, wont see a respectable product for at least 4 years. Then again we havent seen a respectable product in well over a decade so they just keep feeding the stupid fans the same garbage year in and year out. My prediction...within the next 4 years when the "plan" should work...wang sells the team. The only reason he's clinging on to a product that constantly bleeds money is the lighthouse project....and if that fails goodbye islanders or rather hello new ownership. By then they'll tell us we have a new plan then trade away all the up and coming talent and we can officially call the GM Snowbury.

I'm going to directly quote some of the comments made in this blog entry and comment.

***** Posted by isle27: I think you can make an argument that a coach with a Stanley Cup ring might be better than a coach who only has a regular season award on his resmue.

Tortorella and Quenneville, I believe, both have rings. Neither was required to develop a team out of nothing

***** Posted by Frei: As I have already written, and mass has noted, Hartley will be the next coach of the team. Given the egregious amounts of nepotism seen throughout the history of the Wang era, if you cannot see this, well, you probably can't be helped.

Sometimes a friendship between the Coach and the GM is a GOOD thing. Sometimes not. I don't think that is a reason to avoid Hartley as a Coach. His lack of success, OTOH, is.

***** Posted by SIR WILLIAM: I know I don't want Hartley, who was run out of Atlanta.

Hear Hear.

***** Posted by SIR WILLIAM: I know Maurice sucked with Toronto and they had Sundin and we don't. So I don't want him.

Maurice didn't suck in TO. He had perhaps the only GM in the League who could be unfavourably compared to Milbury. He had a Board of Directors that was only interested in making money in the hottest Hockey market in the World. And besides, he was funny as he77. This will be needed this season, trust me.

***** Posted by SIR WILLIAM: So that brings me around to Torterella.... But, I know that the guy hates to lose and that the fire in his belly burns hot. I know that he's got passion and an explosive temper and that he doesn't pull any punches.

Yeah, he has a temper and doesn't pull any punches. This is not a combination that works well with kids. He77, it doesn't work well with veterans. Nothing like the ability to ensure your starting Goalie knows you have no faith in him in the middle of a Playoff Season to make me feel all fuzzy and warm about Torts taking over the team.

***** Posted by SIR WILLIAM: I'm sick to death of losing. I want somebody in here who can kick some ass. Last year was like watching a zombie movie, as guys just went through the motions. We need a guy here with that inner drive to win, no matter what. We need someone who can't sleep at night after losing a game. We need someone who brings fire and brimstone to a losing team.

If that's your recipe, Poor Torts isn't gonna sleep much next season. I, too, am sick to death of the losing. I just think we need a Coach who can develop a team from scratch and I don't think Tortorella is the guy.

Posted by Anonymous: The back up goalie is interviewing for open positions? Man, someone wake me up!

Ahhhhh, shadddup!

Posted by Anonymous: Isles fans probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that owner Charles Wang and GM Garth Snow have hired Colin Powell to replace recently departed coach Ted Nolan OMG!

DIAGF

Posted by Steady: I loved Nolan as our coach.

Me, too.

Posted by Steady: I am in Quenneville's corner.

Too bad.

Paul Maurice FTW.

They should get someone good from the AHL who still has something to prove and is used to dealing with kids who'll make mistakes. And I know Stirling fit that description, but he flopped in part because he had a divided, veteran team.

Well done Scotia....

I am down for either Quenneville or Maurice.
Can't help but like what Quenneville did with Colorado last year with a bunch of kids and some often injured but long in the tooth
one time stars.
Except for the injured part...that sounds familiar.

But my money is on Hartley.

Which means we will get Gallant.
(Please, no)

Huh? :confused:

11:07 was not me Scotia

Nova- Quenneville did not develope kids this year in Col. ?? Were you out on the Time Bandit getting crab or what ???

Nice post Nova... I'm with steady on Quennevile, but Maurice wouldn't be a terrible choice.
the next coach is going to have to deal with a circus. No matter how you slice it this franchise will not have stability until Wang finds another hobby.
Forget about YOUTH, that is a not-so-accurate term when describing the Isles. Okposo is the only "kid" from the last two drafts that will be on the team in October. But they are INEXPERIENCED and there will be at least 6 new faces (under 60 games with the Isles)
Weight (0)
Streit(0)
Sim(2)
Okposo(9)
Comeau(54)
Nielsen (31)
Hillen, Brennan, Jackman, Spiller?
The new coach will need the stones to work with Snow. That wasn't an easy task, even after establishing success with the team. So it might be a case of BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS...

Hope for Quenneville,,, but expect Dunham....

A lot of us said that this was the summer where Snow would have to prove himself. What has he done:
1. Draft. I liked the approach because I wasn't sold on the fact that Filitov would be available for some time. But that looks like it was just bad speculation and he will most likely be in an NHL uni this year. It's too early to tell, obviously, but if Bailey, trivino and Petrov are on the team in 2010 it will have been a AAA draft.
2. UFA... NADA. This board made a big deal of Streit. Streit is a good player, but IMO he's not a $4M player. He's a 3rd pairing "D", who will QB your PP, but he's a defensive liability. YES, he had 62 points... those assists are going to be hard ot come by if you're expecting Comrie, Guerin and Weight to be "finishers". Oh.. I forgot... they have Jeff "the sniper" Tambellini. Streit made $600k last year, he was probably going to get $2-2.5M before Snow inflated his asking price. We'll see.
Weight? I thought he was worried about getting guys like Nielsen, Walter and Bailey opportunities...Unless he makes some trades they have 4 centers over 30 (Weight, Sillinger, Park) and Comrie... what room did he make?
3. Firing Nolan may have been necessary in July, but not in December. Wang and Snow handed Nolan two crap rosters and he deliveredone to the playoffs, and made the second one interesting for a much longer period of time than expected. To say that this team is going with a YOUTH movement is a joke. They have the same general mix of youth and veteran leadership as any other team. I would bet that Weight, Guerin and Sillinger actually make the mean age of the team greater than most... and the only "D" under 30 will be on the third pairing... if at all.

this could have been handled so much better, and the team would have EARNED a little respect around the league.

So far, IMO, he hasn't done anything. I really want him to succeed, becasue if he succeeds, the Isles succeed, and we all get an entertaining product on the ice.

But... what we have right now is chaos...

I'm impressed that some troll remembers the Voyageurs, even if he can't spell, but that wasn't me. Is it some rite of passage here that you get your handle stolen by a troll to disturb (expletive deleted), errrr... crap? If so, I guess I belong, now. Woooot!

505, I was confused by the use of the word "debriefed".

And Steady, Quenneville got to develop the young talent he had in the context of a continually competitive team with experienced and talented veterans. I don't see that here.

I'm not saying that I would scream, gnash my teeth and rend my clothes if Quenneville were hired; merely that my first choice is Maurice.

Maurice>Quenneville>>Stirling>>>>>Hartley>>>>>>>>Tortorella>Gallant, IMO

No one has been mentioning his name, but I'd like to see Andy Murray get an interview to head coach the New York Islanders. His demeanor and hockey knowledge would be exactly what the Isles youth movement would need. Seeing as how he has not been mentioned, I think my vote (if I got one) would be for Quinevelle.

In the final analysis, I may be biased in favour of Maurice, because he has been a mainstay of Canadian Hockey coverage, given that he coaches in the center of the universe, Toronto, Ontario. He's always got something interesting to say, even if his team sucks out loud. He never criticizes his players in the media and he knows how to handle media pressure. These are all good qualities to have in our situation.

It is also fair to say that this is a strange youth movement, given the number of 23-26 year old near-rookies we may be playing this year. However, I do not see these guys as the foundation for a championship team. I expect that this year's draft class (and I still think we got a good one), together with DP and OK, will be the first steps in that direction.

Wouldn't it be so ironic if Snow chose Tortorella...a former NYR Coach? It would seem so fitting wouldn't it. Perhaps Torts could follow in the footsteps of Don "I love Fishsticks" Maloney, another former NYR!-and look what happened during his quest. Let's see if a 2nd string goaltender has the real smarts of a true GM....Snow's plow is on the line here folks w/regard to his choice of coach.

DP and OK as biulding blocks?
maybe just OK, ok?
The likelyhood of DP living out his contract here (another 12 yrs) is absurd.
I'd think a buyout is more likely than a trade, but there's always someone willing to pick up other teams pieces.
This is a very unpopular opinion, I'm sure. So take it easy and like a grain of salt.
OK on the other hand has yet to really brust his cherry enough to be counted upon in times like these. Yes, it's wonderful to have a young talent like him, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, the kid's a baby yet.
Not to mention the simple fact that if history does in fact repeat itself, OK will be traded sooner than later.
I'm tired of Wang, I hope he sells this team, I just hope the team isn't relocated.
8 yrs of him is enough. And just when it looks like things are getting better, they get worse and worse.
The puck hasn't dropped yet, I know. It's not the fans or the players (lack of talented players) it's the way these guys have been running this show. A glimmer of hope, somewhere... anywhere?

Nice job the Isles picking up a 2nd rounder and a pretty good prospect (5th best prospect the Habs had according to THN) for Gervais and a prospect named Volkov. Gervais was expendable.

Hey Al source? i cant find that anywhere

Good deal.

More picks to add to the stable. And a good prospect. Volkov is always rankied by the Isles as a good prospect but the Isles couldn't get him over here.

What?

Source, please.

TSN - nothing, THN - nothing, NHL.com - nothing, Isles website - Nothing... Even asked some Hab fans - nothing. Either this is still a secret, or it is fake.

Guys...come on...IT is the TROLL....None of that is trure...He is a lonely, lonely lil boy!

I saw it on one of the Isles Blogs to the left.

in order of the Poll, my Yes/No to possible coaches:

Bob Hartley - no
Paul Maurice - no
John Tortorella - NO
Bryan Trottier - no
Joel Quenneville - YES
Gerard Gallant - no
Scott Gordon - yes
Mike Sullivan - yes

These are the coaches I think would work for this team at this time.

Kevin T.

Hi Everyone im a blogger for the website hockeybums.blogspot.com and i am a habs fan, can anyone give me a link to this Gervais deal.....PLEASE!

Maurice, Quenneville and Hartley are all two time losers. Maurice and Quenneville never won anything in the NHL and Hartley won with a powerhouse team in Colorado. We certainly don't have the makings of that Colorado team on the Island.

Maurice has shown nothing . In ten season as a head coach he was out of the playoffs seven times. Hell, I can get that from Mike Milbury.

Quenneville seems to be one of those second tier coaches who can always get a job but never finishes in the money. He seems OK, but I have had enough of only OK.

Hartley did win a Cup, but he is not walking into a Colorado type team here. He won with superior talent. But he sucked with Atlanta which minus Kovulchuk is about even with the Isles talent.
So what make anyone think that he can do any better than he did in Atlanta?

Gallant...If Snow hires Gallant .........that will be it for me. I'll root for the Oilers.

Tortorella has 4 playoff seasons, 1 Cup winner and 2 Division winners in six years. And he has only coached one team.
Yes he has his faults (don't they all?). But it took 6 years for him to wear out his welcome in Tampa.

Does anyone expect the coach that Snow hires to be the same coach six years from now? Not me. I've been around too long.

I like the idea of a firey coach after watching last years snooze fest.

Hartley, Quenneville and Maurice are all about the same as Nolan.
Run of the mill NHL coaches.

I want something different. Someone exciting. Someone who took a 26 win team, to 37 then 47 and the Cup. That's progress.

If you guys have a fact based case for any of the other choices I'll be glad to read it.......Sir William

Sir William, I think that your analysis was very good and objective. However, we also have to consider the final line of Kevin T's post: "the best coach for this team right now." I haven't really endorsed anyone for the head coaching job, though my gut tells me Hartley, Quenneville, or Sullivan. Tortorella is a great coach, and you can't deny he gave a virtuoso performance (aided by Khabibulin living up to his nickname) to lead the Bolts to the Cup. However, he simply might not be the best leader for the group here.

I don't know if you're a Yankee fan, but Joe Torre would have definitely fit the description you gave of Quenneville - a second-tier manager who can get a job but can't really lead a team to the promised land. Suddenly, he comes to the Yankees, where he shows a steady hand over a franchise in turmoil, insulates his team from Hurricane Steinbrenner, and the result is 12 straight playoff appearances, 4 championships, and a guaranteed ticket for Joe into the Hall of Fame.

I'm definitely not debating the facts you've laid out, because I think you're correct. However, it will depend in huge part on the organization's needs - as long as Snow doesn't hire Gallant and only did that as a professional courtesy.

Scotty - if this blog is your source on this Gervais deal, I would caution against believing it. If this was from one of the Islanders blogs on the blogroll, please identify which one. I did a little detective work myself, and I haven't found a thing.

As I said before ... I do not know enough about the coaches to pick a "sure thing" coach for this Islanders team ... however ... I do know who I don't want coaching this Islanders team.

#1 Gallant ... No way ... No how ... the guy couldn't put a power play together ... how is he going to coach a team.

#2 Tortorella ... he doesn't have the temperment to coach "this" Islanders team or the goalie. Yelling and screaming doesn't get players to tune in ... it is more likely to tune them out. Torts won the cup with a powerhouse team in a weak division at the time .... so he can hang his hat on the Stanley Cup the same way Hartley could with the power house Avs... Torts was sucking up the joint last season in Tampa with a superior team to about 1/3 of the league ... I still say he tanked ... but that is just MO. I feel he's more suited for a veteran lineup on the cusp of greatness.

which takes me to #3...

Hartley ... Nuh uh ... someone stated it perfectly before ... I think it was Sir William ... he couldn't do anything with a young team led by Kovulchuk for the first 6 games .... and lets not forget .... that team also had Hossa at the time ... again ... they qualified for the playoffs in 07 playing in a weak division. The fact he's friendly with Snow is not a problem with me ... it's just that I don't feel he can work magic with the Isles ... vets or kids.

That is it for my definitely nots .....

I wish I knew more about Quenneville .... because I've heard he's a great motivator and teacher ... two qualities that is imperitive to the improvemennt of this team ... If he's hired I guess I'll learn more about him. LOL!!

Maurice? Again .... I'm not familiar enough with him to really make a qualified decision about him. I hear both good and bad things.... the question is .... does he have the important qualities to coach THIS Islander team?

Then we are left with minor league and assistant coaches..... hey ... ya never know... you can't really knock guys that are used to working with the younger talent on teams... look at Laves... he lost the locker room with the Isles ... and then took Carolina to a cup championship a few years later ... so saying the Isles need an established coach doesn't really hold water .... I think they just need the right coach .... with experience at NHL or AHL level.

All these coaches brought in for these interviews have had succeeded and failed at one time or another .... none of them brings a guarantee of success or failure ... we just need the right guy. I just hope that Snow is equipped with the judgement to make the correct pick. I'm not going to knock him about it ... because he's never picked a coach yet ... so until he does .... and we see the results ... we will not know for sure. Might take a few seasons to measure those results.

You can't blame Hartley for that start last season.

Sure, Atlanta had Hossa and Kovie, but they've had no center since Savard left, a weak D lead by a rookie and Isles castoff and inconsistent goaltending. They had a hot streak or two after Hartley left, but who's to say they wouldn't have turned it around with him? It's not like they went on to win the division after he left.

Either way, I don't think you can rate these coaching prospects on their win-loss records. The Isles need a coach that will help them take the next step..or the next few steps..whether or not Hartley or Quenville or Galant or anyone else will be able to do that can't be figured based on record alone.

Snow will do his homework and come up with the best man for the job.

By the way, I don't think there's anyway Tortarella gets it. If Snow got mad at Nolan for starting Dubie in a Rangers game, imagine how he'd feel the first time Torts pulled Ricky halfway through the 1st..then ripped him in the media after the game.

1010 - I didn't blame Hartley for the poor start ... In essense all I said he wasn't able to do anything even with stars on his roster... uninspiring play .... heck ... didn't known go through a 7 game winless streak and a 6 game winless streak?

So the crux of my point is that I don't think Hartley is the tonic for a team of the Isles' makeup.

Also ... you say that Atlanta had no center since Savard left ... so very true .... But did the Isles have a true #1 center??? Maybe a #2 center in Comrie.
----------------------------
Speaking of coaches ... the guy who runs my nephews' hockey program was just made an assistant coach of the Black Hawks ... the irony ... My brother told Snow on Friday ... think Haviland .... and Snow looked back at my brother with a big grin and a nod.... never saw him on the interview list ... but Snow knew who he was.

19 ISLES.... Was there ever a sterner, more iron fisted coach then Al Arbour? The great Hall of Famers on the Islanders still call him MISTER Arbour. I heard some of his rants on tape and they are right up there with Tortorella's. And Arbour molded a young team into a championship team.

Of course this team doesn't have the Bossy's or Potvin's or Trottier's like Arbour did, but my point was that Al was similar to Tortorella in his passion to win.

Tortorella may have had one bad season last year, but he also didn't have a goalie that could stop a beachball. You can't lay that on his shoulders.

And who says that players don't respond to yelling or screaming.
Tampa players made the playoffs 4 out of six years. So somebody must have responded, because the team went from 26 wins the first year, to 37 the second and finally to 47 wins and a Cup in the third year. Those results fly in the face of your theory that players don't respond to his method of coaching. If no one responded how did the team improve during those years?

Personally, I do not think that Snow will hire Tortorella. I think that he will make the "safe" choice and go for one of the bland retreads. When you hear the word "passion" does your mind think of Maurice, Hartley or Quenneville? How about Torts?

And we will get another bland season. And the coach will blame it on the players and the GM will balme the coach and the wheels on the bus go round and round......Sir William

Edit Key .... I said ... "stars on his roster... uninspiring play .... heck ... didn't known go through a 7 game winless streak and a 6 game winless streak?" .... known = Nolan .... that is what happens when you don't disable your auto-spell check in word. LOL!!

AZS ~ Just read your last post .... ya gotta keep coming on here ... don't let others bring ya down ... there are enough of us on here.... and how can ya forget 505??? He alone provides enough insight and a side dish of entertainment to make the effort to come here.

You give in ... the trolls win. Screw 'em!!!!

Sir William said ... "19 ISLES.... Was there ever a sterner, more iron fisted coach then Al Arbour? The great Hall of Famers on the Islanders still call him MISTER Arbour. I heard some of his rants on tape and they are right up there with Tortorella's."

Sir Bill .... Did you just compare Tortorella with Al Arbour???!!!

I didn't think so.

We are talking about two totally different teams ... actually 3 teams .... this Isles team .. the dynasty Isles teams .... and the SC Tampa team ... and two totally different coaches .... just because Al went to Tampa games while living there doesn't mean that Radar was giving Torts pointers.

The New York Islanders: Exhausting since 1994.

19 isles..atlanta was a team without a center that was trying to win, the isles will be a team without a center that will be trying to get better. different expectations, different job descriptions.

don't get me wrong, i'm not calling for hartley, just saying that if he turns out to be the guy..it won't be as terrible as some isles fans are making it out to be...

-0-

as for Tortarella, didn't he throw the bench on the ice during a game once? stunts like that are funny when tampa's coach pull them..when it's a coach from long island they're an excuse to bash the isles yet again

It's been the same people going back and forth about the same things over and over and over again. I can't stand it anymore.

Why so against Tortorella?? Becuase he's too passionate? Too confident in his own abilites? HE'S THE COACH THAT THIS TEAM NEEDS. He needs to push the youth to get 100% out of him. He needs to actually put DP in his F'ING PLACE if any of this nonsense about him bitching and moaning and running the team is true. He doesn't have the C (I'm aware goalies can't, but he still wouldn't if he had the opertunity) and is JUST A NETMINDER. Yes, he's with the team for a long time but he can't run it. We already have a backup goalie who's taking care of that (oy vey)

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see Torts jumping off the bench screaming at Ricky when he misplays a bounce. I would LOVE to see Torts getting into his players for not giving it their all. I would LOVE to see him pulling on the jersey of our "enforcers" (hah) screaming "IF YOU DON'T FIGHT HIM, I WILL"

6 Years
2 Divisons
1 Cup

People talking about how he wont work with snow and wang... yet they complain everyone is just a yes men to them... it's ridiculous. Hire the man to COACH A TEAM. that's his job. not snow's not wang's and it doesn't matter if they don't like that he told off a reporter or said something like "the ice girls are the worst creation in the history of hockey" or something to the effect of "they didn't play at all tonight"

WE NEED THIS

The only way the isles get better coach wise is if they hired the ghost of Al Arbor and Bill Torrey back....and find an owner that won't offer a 15 year contract out and keep's his nose outt'a the business. Hiring Snow, a 2nd string goalie as your GM was as absurd as hiring and firing Neil Smith and Ted Nolan-sorry, this organization ain't going anywhere folks, just around and around and around again and again and again...sad to say!

Check out my blog on the entire Atlantic Division over at Isles Nation!

http://www.islesnation.com/justin.htm

That is a direct link to my area. I hope to see you guys there soon!

19 ISLES...Yes I did compare Torts to Arbour in their desire to win. Here's the quote:

"Of course this team doesn't have the Bossy's or Potvin's or Trottier's like Arbour did, but my point was that Al was similar to Tortorella in his passion to win".

Still waiting for your reply about Torts team improving from 26 to 37 to 47 wins. You said that no one listens to a coach that yells and screams. So explain how Totrs team improved and won the Cup if no one was listening? You said it, now back it up with facts.

As for your arguement that the South East is a weak division. Since 2000 the Devils (3 times) the S/E champ (3 times) Penguins (1 time) and the Sens (1) have been in the Cup Finals. Of that the Devils won twice and the S/E champ won twice.
So it would appear the the N/E division is the weaker sister.
Once again the facts speak for themselves....Sir William

19 ISLES...Yes I did compare Torts to Arbour in their desire to win. Here's the quote:

"Of course this team doesn't have the Bossy's or Potvin's or Trottier's like Arbour did, but my point was that Al was similar to Tortorella in his passion to win".

Still waiting for your reply about Torts team improving from 26 to 37 to 47 wins. You said that no one listens to a coach that yells and screams. So explain how Totrs team improved and won the Cup if no one was listening? You said it, now back it up with facts.

As for your arguement that the South East is a weak division. Since 2000 the Devils (3 times) the S/E champ (3 times) Penguins (1 time) and the Sens (1) have been in the Cup Finals. Of that the Devils won twice and the S/E champ won twice.
So it would appear the the N/E division is the weaker sister.
Once again the facts speak for themselves....Sir William

Does anyone else feel that Mats Sundin is the most over hyped player in hockey right now?

Every blog is all day coverage about him and yet what has he really done? Never scored 50 goals in a season. Only broke the 100 point barrier once. And he never won a Cup.

To my mind he's not in the class of Gretsky, Lemeiux, Messier, Yzerman or Bossy.

He's a second tier star like Ryan Smyth or Glen Anderson.

Is he a HOF player. Sure because of his International and Olympic play. And he does average a point per game in the NHL.
And he played in Canada his whole career which counts big time.

But is he worth all the hype that's going on? Not to me......Sir William

All fair points about Sundin, Sir William, but even at his age, he is a far better center than anyone we've got.

And I daresay that where ever he winds up, he will put up more points than our top 2 centers combined.

Of course, Snow could blow the doors out of Melville, and in particular Pavlov's Blog, by having a joint press conference next week announcing Maurice as the coach and a one year contract for Sundin valued at 12 million.

Speaking of joints.....now, where did I leave that....eh, nevermind.

505,,, Yes, true about the Isles centers, but I wasn't comparing Sundin to them. There are a ton of better centers than the Isles have. But not all of them are getting the press coverage that Sundin is.

I just do not think he is as good as he is cracked up to be. And certainly not worth the everyday anguish about where he will play next year..........Sir William

HEY GUYS WHAT ABOUT PICKING UP GLEN MURRAY WHO WAS PUT ON WAIVER BYE BOSTON TODAY HE HAS ONE YEAR LEFT ON HIS CONTRACT

murray would defineatly help out our offense and he'd put points up i say the isles should make a move to get him

Billy Billy Billy...I stick up for you with the trolls and than you start the same old stuff.

Why did Torts record go up and up and up ???? LOOK AT THE PLAYERS HIS GM GAVE HIM !!! Give any coach those guys and see what happens.

You simply just like to argue with everybody. I give up....

NO WAY should that clown be our coach! NO WAY !

Sundin com'n to the Islanders....'yeah, and I have a bridge to sell you in London!...why on earth would he choose a team that constantly get's in it's own way?.....that's why no one wants to come to the island in the 1st place...don't 'cha think he would take that 2 year/20 mil offer by Vancouver 1st????...islanders have to fix their house before anyone would wanna come here!...biggest blunder: hiring and then firing Neil Smilth...2nd biggest blunder: firing Ted Nolan..3rd biggest blu...ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, nevermind!

Steady ( if that was really your post) You can say that about any coach. Would Arbour be as good, had he not had 5 Hall of Fame players on his squad? Would Bowman? Would anyone?

Any successful coach can be brought down by saying "look at the great players on the team."

Useless arguement. Torts won with what he had. That's all a coach can do.........Sir William

James

"????...islanders have to fix their house before anyone would wanna come here!...biggest blunder: hiring and then firing Neil Smilth...2nd biggest blunder: firing Ted Nolan..3rd biggest blu...ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, nevermind!"

james
why bother leaving a comment?
It's been said a million times.
Even the T Rolle's have more to say.

I am crying in pain.
not about what the Isles can do this year....
But what they have not done.
(Not)

You people are WORTHLESS at times.

LET'S DROP TH PUCK!

We all know where I really live.

Frei - I hit a nerve huh....Good. Your childish rants and the way you put people down is embarassing. As for meeting you at the flag pole at 3pm after your art class. Please stop. You make me chuckle!

SW- You are correct. You cannot argue that a coach had talent so that is why he was good, or vice versa. All I am saying is year after year they added the needed elements to make that team betteer.

I just do not get why you are so down on Quenneville. He has done well in my opinion and he did well with a team similar to what we will have this year. He played the kids. He made the playoffs. I don't know....Just a hunch to be honest!

**As for Sundin .... I will go "frei" on this board if they ever even thought of signing him.....His face alone gets me sick....Reminds me of cement head Messier......The great Edmonton Oiler that bled the Rangers dry for money. ***

***Off to MTK fishing boys.....I will be checking in to see if we got a coach...Limited access out there to internet so keep me posted! ***

I think Quenneville is the best choice, if he's interested. he has a consistant winning record, was fired for not making it passed the second round last year ( can you imagine ) and is a highly drafted NHL defensmen who has played 800 games in the league, which I think is more important than everyone thinks in keeping the players trust, it doesn't insure winning, but credibility is very important how can you demand a young star player play a certain way or execute a certain play when you couldn't even make it to that level ?

Anyone notice a trend here? You all have good points about which coach to choose and which ones to leave by the side of the road. However, one thing is common in almost every post. DP keeps getting brought up. "We need a coach who can handle DP". "Coach A will annoy DP and lose the team quickly". "Coach B will know how to stroke DP and get the best 50 games out of him". Unbelieveable!!!!!!! We, and the organ-I-zation are so worried about our immature goalie. The same goalie who helped drive a very good coach out of town. And now we have to worry about him again when selecting the next coach??? F-him!!!! He should just be quiet and play for whomever is chosen. Stop some pucks and stop getting hurt Mr. Glass.

SW, did you just group Ryan Smyth with Glenn Anderson during your Sundin rant???? Please tell me that was a typo. Smyth couldn't hold Anderson's equipment bag and doesn't deserve to.

Q for coach.

This is a big test for Snow. I think Bob Hartley Paul Maurice and John Tortorella are the top 3 for the job.

Sir William .... it is no surprise that sometimes you and I disagree ... but I just chalk that up to difference of opinion ... no biggie ....

But sometimes I think you'd show me an 8'x8' sheet of floating iceberg in the North Atlantic ... and tell me it's a fine piece of beach front property with a spectacular ocean view.

Look ... there is noooooooooo way you can compare Torts with Radar .... I don't care how many HOF players were on the Isles' dynasty teams .... but it's the working class skilled talent of players like Bobby Ny, Jethro, Bourney, Butchy, JT, Morrow, Mad Dog Duane, Brent, Jonsson, Kallur... I could go on ... that he molded to be part of the superstructure that was Bossy, Trotts, Smitty and Potsy ..... he not only molded all those players ... he created a machine with the parts he had ... a CONSISTENT WINNER ..... 19 Friggen Playoff series' in a row ... and 6 conference finals in a row ..... Radar was a maestro.

Torts won a Stanley Cup as a coach and deserves recognition for that achievement .... he had some GREAT players on his team too.... he also had a relatively very weak division to play 8 games a year against the year he won the cup. Do you realize that none of the Lightning's divsion rivals made the playoffs that year? 78 points was the second place team in the division, 10th place overall in the conference.

I'm not saying that Torts is a bad coach ... I'm saying there is no way you can compare him to Al Arbour ... and yeah ... we know Al sometimes flew off the handle at coaches ... but I don't recall him ever throwing a bench on the ice. I think ALL NHL coaches get a little hot under the collar ... but I don't think that the Isles need a guy like Torts that probably needs some anger management classes

Here is Torts' record as a coach of the Lightning.

2001–02 27W 40L 11T 4OTL 69PTS 3rd in Southeast -- -- -- Missed Playoffs

2002–03 36W 25L 16T 5OTL 93PTS 1st in Southeast
Playoffs ... 5W 6L Win % .455 Lost in Second Round

2003–04 46W 22L 8T 6OTL 106PTS 1st in Southeast
Playoffs ... 16W 7L Win % .696 Won Stanley Cup

2005–06 43W 33L 6OTL/ SOL 92PTS 2nd in Southeast
Playoffs ... 1W 4L Win % .200 Lost in First Round

2006–07 44W 33L 5OTL/SOL 93PTS 2nd in Southeast
Playoffs ... 2W 4L Win% .333 Lost in First Round

2007–08 31W 42L 9OTL/SOL 71PTS 5th in Southeast -- -- -- Missed Playoffs

Total 227W 195L 35OTL 35OTL/SOL 524PTS
2 Division Championships 24W 21L Win% .533 1 Stanley Cup

Not a horrible record ... but his teams have probably averaged in the mid to upper 80s in total points in his tenure as coach ... hardly impressive ... and upper 80s doesn't qualify you for the playoffs in today's game .... He's had great players on his team for most of the seasons he's coached .... and in a very very weak division that has had teams perpetually finish in the lower 3rd of the conference.

Infact .... only THREE times in Torts' coaching tenure with the Lightning have more than one team qualified for the playoffs ... and that number has always been 2 out of 8 teams ..... that is sad for the division.

Infact .... take last year's Caps team ... with 94 points .... as the division leader ... they would of just tied the 7th and 8th place teams for points ... I just am not impressed with any coaches from the South East Division right now.... they've consistently had Star Players ... and they can't consistently out perform the rest of the conference.

Johnny T's and Lavy's Tampa and Carolina teams when they won their respective Stanley Cups were the ONLY real solid season seasons for those two teams where you can claim they were brilliant coaches .... and yeah ... they had the talent to compliment their coaches....

Johnny T ... obviously doesn't do losing well .... even when he has talent ... and he's going to have to lose with the Isles in their current state right now. That doesn't bode well for the development of these kids.... so a BIG FAT NO Sir W.

Well ... Sir W .... you wanted Facts .... you got them ... and there's more where that came from.

IF Snow hires Torts ... fine ... maybe Snowy knows a bit more about hockey than I do ... and knows what motivates players ... and maybe Torts' interview went really well in comparisson to the other coaching candidates ... I will not go ballistic ... I'll be openminded. He just wouldn't be my first or second choice from what I know about the coaches.

As I have been trying do research on some of these coaches .... I see Quenneville as the lead candidate .... not just because of his consistent record ... but his demeanor, experience and his previous experience teaching other young players.

I'm not saying that makes him a shoe-in ... but he shows he displays a versitile ability to handle both youth and vets.

Remember ... before Lavy and Torts won their cups ..... they never won a Stanley Cup .... so I don't always buy into the "He has Rings" theory.

100% of NHL head coaches that won their first Stanley Cup as the head coach ..... NEVER won a Stanley Cup as a head coach before .... the NHL Network coach told me that one. ;)

Oh .... and about Torts again ... ask yourself this ....

If Torts never won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with a 106 point regular season .... would you still be high on him as a coach for the Isles? To be fair ... take out his 60point first year .... and still look at his record for the rest of his tenure .... with a great lineup .... keep that in mind.

It will probably be Bob Hartley, because the owner seems to be Howard Borden.

Hi Bob!

I just hope Snow is thorough and doesn't give the other candidates the once over now that he's talked to Hartley. Nothing against the man, but I just have no faith in Islanders management to conduct this search properly. Will Hartley ultimately be a good choice? Probably. But let's really hear from Tortorella, Quenneville and some of the others first before we let speculation turn into fact.

I've been looking over this roster for 2008-09 a lot and I don't think it's as bad as many people are saying. Injuries and a late collapse doomed us last year and we finished with 79 points. So far this year we've upgraded our defense corps with Streit and added Weight, who will make Guerin and the younger players better. The reality of it is if Okposo, Comeau and Tambellini even make some baby steps we should be a better team next season. If they make quantum leaps we could be very interesting to watch.

I'm not saying playoff glory. But if the right coach can push the right buttons we're going to be a lot better than many people think.

Hence why I'm nervous about this coach search.

19 ISLES ....None are so deaf as those that will not hear. For the third time I only compared Arbour to Torts in his passion to win. NOT his record or his Cups won or anything else. JUST HIS PASSION TO WIN. Period. OK, clear enough?

The discussion here was your claim that players will not listen to a coach who yealls and screams. I refuted that by showing the facts that the Tampa team improved it's win total 3 consecutive years and won the Cup. So I said that someone must have listened. So far you still have not replied to that and ignored it in all of you replies. When you cannot refute the obvious then ignore it.

As for having great players once you get past Vinny L, St. Louis and Richards up front. Dan Boyle on D and Khabibulin for the Cup year. Who else made Tampa a "great" team? Name the greats?

The Bulin Wall split after winning the Cup and Tampa has not had a legit goalie since. They still don't.

Explian how the S/E division managed to get into the Cup Final 3 times since the 2001-2002 season, if the division is so weak?

These are facts.

Match Totrs record against the other candidates. How does it stack up?............Sir William

The Isles are a sad organization, perhaps the saddest in all of sports. Dumpy arena, no fan support, awful on ice product, a terrible front office. And they just fired the only person that gave the organization an ounce of credibility in Nolan.

Why would ANYONE want to coach this team? It has already been proven that nobody wants to play on Long Island.

And perform you get mad, what that I have written isn't true?

"As for having great players once you get past Vinny L, St. Louis and Richards up front. Dan Boyle on D and Khabibulin for the Cup year. Who else made Tampa a "great" team? Name the greats?"

That's 20% of the roster and like 90% of the ice time.

Others don't have to waste their time reading this long a$$ post .. this is addressed to Sir William ....
***************
SW ~ How can you measure Torts' passion to win vs. Arbour's?? Really now? Is that your point? Passion to win? Don't all coaches have that passion? Haven't ALL NHL coaches blown a gasket? Of course. I made a statement in the original post knocking Torts out of my personal choices that he doesn't have the temperment to coach "these" Isles ... nothing about passion. I don't equate passion with anger in that regard.

We all get a bit testy sometimes when things don't go our way and we are a little short fused. Arbour, Torts, Sutter, Renney, Milbury .... I can go on .... Milbury had some classic outbursts.... but does that elevate him to Arbour's level because he had the same ... quote " Passion " unquote????

We are talking about a totally different team here as I previously stated ...... these aren't the 1982 Isles .... or the 2006 Lightning .... it's the coachless 2008-09 Isles .... and I .. WANT ... the RIGHT COACH for THAT TEAM!!! .... That is my empahsis
*******************************
It's funny how you said ... "As for having great players once you get past Vinny L, St. Louis and Richards up front. Dan Boyle on D and Khabibulin for the Cup year. Who else made Tampa a "great" team? Name the greats?"

I almost cracked up ... but then realized you are serious .... First of all ... YOU already named the greats ... you saved me the time.... You mentioned THREE All STAR forwards ... an ALL STAR defenseman ... and an ALL STAR GOALIE .... FIVE STARS .... and you want more???? OK ... I'll bite.

If you remember ... the Islanders had about 4 cornerstone players ... who were GREAT .... Trotts, Smitty, the Boss and Potsy ... then their was second tier Stars .. like Jethro, Bobby Ny, Bourney, Butchy .... hey ... why am I repeating myself ... I mentioned that in my last long post to you ..... anyway ... get my point??

You already brought up Tampa's Super Stars .... but I'll just mention their other good players ... and big contributors ....

Dave Andreychuk, Rulsan Fedotenko (Big playoff year), you missed a STAR in Pavel Kubina, Brad Lukowich had his best year that year, Fredrik Modin (maybe not a star .. but put up better numbers in 2004 then any Isles in 2008) and another star Cory Stillman had 80 pts that year.

Don't ya wish the Isles had that lineup?
***************
So how does the Tampa lineup in 2004 stack up agains the Isles?Look .. the talent differential dwarfs that of the Isles. Torts as you say ... has a passion to win!!! How is his yelling going to help THIS Isles team win?? Both Arbour and Torts had a lot more to work with ... that is a huge similarity for both of them in their success .... but Arbour also had more attributes than Torts to get his players to tune into him ... and Arbour's rants and yelling was more tempered by his ability to teach and get his point across. I've seen Arbour pissed off ... but I never saw him characterized as a ranting lunatic like Torts.

I could be wrong about Torts .. I've said that before ... b/c as I said earlier ... I admitted my ignorance to knowing everything I'd need to know to pick a coach.... but I see such a huge talent differential between the Isles of 08-09 and the Lightning of 03-04.

What I'm getting from you is that you don't think that Yelling and Screaming at the kids would affect them because Arbour did it with the Isles. I don't think Arbour relied on Yelling and Screaming to coach the Isles. My arguement is that when a coach with no patience just keeps yelling and screaming ... players will insulate themselves by tuning him out. That is all ... I hope that answers your repeated question ... because my original post about Torts only mentioned his yelling in 2 sentences ... if that worked... a skilled Tampa wouldn't be dead last in the NHL in 08 ... Torts' yelling was only part of why I don't want Torts .. it wasn't the meat of my arguement about Torts ... but apparently it is for you.

My arguement was that you can't compare Torts to Arbour... you just can't. Torts couldn't hold Arbour's clipboard.
*****************************
Next .... SW ... ya want me to measure Torts' record against the other candidates??? Based on what? The win loss record? I thought I already made that clear .... that wins and losses for a coach mean nothing unless you can measure them with the same talent. Even I could of coached the '82 Isles to a victory vs. the '82 Rockies.... clearly not as good as Arbour .. but do you get the point?

I think a coach that coaches a long time with various degrees of talent on the team pretty much displays his effectiveness. I think they should be measured that way. Since all the candidates have had variying levels of success and failure .... you can get a litmus test that way. So without discecting every coach in every year with all the talent at their disposal ... which would take longer than any of my marathon posts .... it would be pointless.

That is WHY ... I said I would rely on Snow's ability and hope he makes the right decision ... which is why I wouldn't go ballistic if Torts was hired .... b/c Snow has more insight and experience that I do in that facet.
***********************

Hope this satisfys your inquiry SW.... as to your other question ...

SW said ~ "Explian how the S/E division managed to get into the Cup Final 3 times since the 2001-2002 season, if the division is so weak?"

Do I really need to explain that to you? Seriously??? Would you stop with the semantics ?? No wonder why most people here get frustrated with you on here. That is where you lose me Sir W.

I said the Division was WEAK ... not Tampa or Carolina during their cup runs ... I mentioned them already as the STRONG teams for that division ... each of them got to play the others EIGHT times a year ... and at any given time since the creation of the South East division in 98-99 ... ONLY TWO teams TOPS qualified for the playoffs during the same playoff year ONLY THREE times in that span. That is 10 seasons ... 30% of the time two teams for the division made the playoffs the same year.

I'll even thow this at ya once again so it finally sticks ... the year that Tampa won it's Stanley Cup ... they were the ONLY team to qualify for the playoffs in their putrid division. The second place Atlanta Thrashers were 10th in the entire conference. Does that paint a picture for you?

I'll even toss you a bone here about the South East Division .. sure ... when Carolina won the Cup in 06 ... two teams made the cut .... Tampa with an 8th seed ... oooooooo ... I'm shaking in my skates. That isn't to belittle Carolina ... they had a solid team ... yet they only had to play 8th seeded albeit .. a hot Edmonton in 7 games to win the cup ... but keep inmind ... Edmonton had the most OTL points of any playoff team that year ... and in reality ... wouldn't of qualified for the playoffs under normal circumstances ... that was the year the shoot began.

So for the talented teams of the South East like Tampa and Carolina ... that means that they had a feeding frenzy within its own division for the most part... thus jacking up their total points for the season... where as ... in the other Divisions with more parity ... teams had to battle it out ... by the time the playoffs come around ... they are a bit more spent ... it doesn't mean that teams like Tampa or Carolina sucked or had bad coaching ... it just means they had an easier schedule with inferior divisional opponents.

As Vukota said...

Q for coach

19 ISLE in NJ 22, Steady and others have been all over it. This is a no brainer if he'll take the job.

If Snow can't get Q, then take one of the newer coaches who want a shot. They'll work their butt off for two years and then send them on their way.

Kevin T.

Frei ~ Normally I don't address you much .... but your last post ...
you said .. "I really am tired of this teams management...but more so some ofthe fans that make a Mockery of this site with their own 'Personal Agendas'. To those moderating, there should be a Topic going on each day, and if a comment isnt about said article, that comment should be Banned. Much to much 'personal attacks and "Yapping' in the Wind going on...... Thank You."

Frei ... you are welcome to come on here and post anytime you want on this blog's freestyle format ... that is the beauty of it... and also the curse .... we all deal with it here... we except the good with the bad.

We already know you're tired of the Isles' management ... you've made that much clear. I hear your cries ... you make valid points ... and also some from left field.

You claim to want the site moderated and non-related posts banned ... and you added something about the personal attacks .... but Frei .. if that was imposed .. I doubt very much that many of your posts would make it through.

Infact ... your last post was also a personal attack against Yappers in itself ... and would include yappers with the likes of YOU and ME to name a few. So what exactly are you looking for to be moderated?? If you do want moderation ... Islandermania is moderated and seems to be the forum for the amount of moderation you'd like on.

They make sure posts are topical to the subject .. and ban personal attacks. See ya there.... maybe?

If things with the Isles are really making your life so unbearable ... give up on them and cease following them. That is the best cure for what bothers you. You'll feel much better.

Good Luck,

Captian Wind Bag ... AKA 19 Isle in NJ 22

19 ISLES.....I agree that Tampa had some good role players on their run to the Cup. But who was it that turned Vinny L, St. Louis and Richards into stars?

Torts took over a floundering team and develope the talent they had. That's all I am asking him to do here.

"My arguement was that you can't compare Torts to Arbour... you just can't. Torts couldn't hold Arbour's clipboard."

I don't think you can measure a mans career until it's over. Torts is a young guy and will coach somewhere in the NHL again. He has lots of years left to prove himself. To say that he couldn't hold Arbours clipboard is just dumb. I thought you were above that.

As for asking about the other coaches....that was a request. I know something about each of them but not really anything in depth. I was asking you if you did.

As for the S/E. Well it's not where you start in the playoffs but where you finish. The regular season is only an elimination process. It makes no difference how many teams from each division get into the playoffs. It just matters who gets to the Finals.
The S/E rep had to get past every other team to make the Cup Finals and they did it. I don't see how you can argue with that.

."No wonder why most people here get frustrated with you on here. That is where you lose me Sir W."

Wow!! Cut me to the quick. Because I really care what some of the trolls here think. There are some good hockey minds here,
Some agree, some don't. That doesn't change the facts or the stats. If people get frustrated because their emotions over rule their heads that's not my problem. It's theirs.

"It was the year the shoot beagn" ( I'm going to assume you meant shootout).

So what. All 30 teams played by the same rules. There are no asterisks on the Cup..........Sir William

19 ISLES,,,What's the word in Canada from you buddy on the Isles coaching situation>...Sir William

What's your response to "Islanders' Follies" on si.com?

Having watched Torts for all of his years here in Tampa, including a Stanley Cup, I think some of you are off base. He is full of attitude for sure but he only started with his grumbling towards the end when he could not get any help for the team and he was trying to make chicken salad out of , well you know!
He does have an interesting style which amounts to "safe is death" which was the slogan here for years. If you have the right guys to fit his system I think he would do real well. If you do not and the GM won't get them you will be totally unhappy!
He does hate to lose and expects the same from his players from top to bottom. This is a problem for some of todays players that want to be babied at all times but for a lot of guys he is the answer. He lasted here for a long time because our GM, who was short on talent, was at least good at controlling all of the personalities on the team and behind the bench.

Thanks Lightning Fan. Great input!

I think it would be extremely entertaining to have Torts as the new coach. But I think that Garth Snow has made it clear he wants to develop the young talent on the team. That means an extremely patient coach would have to take the helm.

I would not be unhappy if Tortorella got the job. It would be great fun to watch him and Snow fight it out.

Kevin T.

Long time no see gents.

Well. I see that the coaching debate is still a hot topic. I avoided this site after seeing how over reactive people were after the draft.

We are hyper sensitive to everything that happens with this team. 19 Isles told me at practice last week that every move the team makes, whether justified or not just grates on the nerves of most of the jaded Isles fans.

Listen guys and gals. Look at other clubs like Chicago & St. Louis. When was the last time those clubs won a cup or were even in the Finals? The Isles aren't alone.

The Isles need to rebuild just as they do. You're either on board or you are not. I for one am onboard. I love this team, warts and all.

Snow is coming into his own. He's not perfect and he's not Bill Torrey. He's also not Mad Mike Milbury. Or as I used to call him. 3M.

19 Isles told me he was impressed with what he saw in rookie camp and I trust his opinion. He said there were some names that stood out, and that Comeau and Co. are going to lead the Isles back to respectability in a couple of years.

For those with no stomach. Skip a few seasons. We'll save room for ya on the bandwagon. The Isles need dedicated fans that bring enthusiasm back to the club, however we'll welcome you back to the fray. Front runners welcome at the Lighthouse.

19 Isles you really gave it to Sir William. If you come on here before practice and read this just be prepared for a scolding for your personal attack.

One of the better choices to coach the Isles this year is near the bottom of the shopping list. Mike Sullivan. This guy got stuck with a bad rap during a very weird time for the Bruins. Thornton was traded during his second year, a new GM came in (Chiarelli) and wanted "his own" coach (which ended up being the utterly disasterous Dave Lewis) and he worked fpr a very large idiot GM (O'Connell)
why would he fit with the Isles?
1) Face it, there young and rebuilding (again), for this year they need to be competitive against the bottom feeders and win 4 games against the Rangers, that should pretty much be the goal for this year.
2) Sully can work with an (ahem), unorthodox and inexperienced GM, and toe the line with an (ahem,again)... unconventional owner, he's hardened himself to random insanity.
3) He is strong technically but isn't afraid to go for it in the final minutes of the game.
4) The players could probably use a break after the bizarro drama of last season (and the extra-weird off-season) and Sully is strict but never calls out his players to the media.
5) You have a shiny new defenseman and Sully is a good defensive coach.
As you could probably tell, I'm a Bruins fan, which means I am in no way, shape or form a Rangers fan (it's a Boston thing) and I like the fact that the Isles seem to do pretty good at sticking it to them. Yeah, I know Long Island is in New York, but trust me, it's different.
So, best of luck for next year and avoid Torts like the plague, three egomaniacs in upper-managment positions is never a good idea.

Posting at 17:30 not me. This is getting old fast.

Kevin M,......Leave 19 ISLES be. Beleive me, I can take it. And I don't mind from it him, because at least he sometimes knows what he's talking about ( how's that for a backhanded
compliment).........Sir William

I vote for Tortorella for the next coach of the Isles. He lead the "Bolts", who had a lot more talented players than the Isles did, to the worst record in the NHL last year. Hopefully he can do the same for us!!

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Frei | July 22, 2008 23:58
MetalChick, the way it reads would be "does anyone think that these (coaches made over as new) would be better than Ted Nolan?" This makes absolutely perfect sense and does in no way "sound dumb" unless your grasp of the English language is deficient. But anyway...
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"Anyway" my ass! My grasp of the language is far from deficient, I would not have been employed by a fortune 500 company in a writing capacity if I was as deficient as you imagine.

Like it or not, the word is not a noun meaning "a person or object made over as new," it is a verb with a secondary meaning of "to make over as if new." No it does NOT make any sense gramatically in the way that it was used. You can attempt to rationalize it and justify it all you want, but just because Microsoft spell-check wont correct you does not mean it isnt wrong or nonsensical.

"Does anyone feel that any of these retreads is a better coach than Ted Nolan???"
--Dumb sentence

"Does anyone feel that any of these [plural noun] is a better coach than Ted Nolan???"
--Term used here as if it is a pluralized noun

"Does anyone feel that any of these ["to make over as if new"s] is a better coach than Ted Nolan???"
--Term is actualy an (incorrectly) pluralized verb

"Does anyone feel that any of these [retreaded individuals] is a better coach than Ted Nolan???"
--Thats the closest way in which you could use this word and make a correct sentence... and its STILL stupid.

Even if you excuse the obvious grammar problem and ONLY look at meaning, like that laast sentence, what the hell makes these other coaches "retreaded" so to speak? More importantly, how are guys like Hartley or Gordon "retreaded" if Ted Nolan isnt? Explain it if you think it makes such "perfect sense". Go ahead.

you kidding me... hartley and tortorella aren't exactly known for their ability to develop young players... isn`t that what Snow is planning to do??? it seems that he's all over the map... out of these guys, the best fit would have to be maurice

The Islanders need a coach.... NOW!!!! Snow take your time find someone who you like then PLEASE GET OUT AND TAKE WANG WITH YOU... we need HELP NOW.. WELL TO ALL OF US WHO CARE THE RANGERS STILL SUCK SO (LETS GO ISLANDERS)

Rayban,

Thanks for the inside info on sullivan. Based on your info he is the "perfect" fit. Only question is he went through some crazy times in Boston will he be willing to do the same here on the island. There is only so much one can take and believe me it is never a dull moment with Wang. However, if he becomes the coach I would not mind. I dont want Hartley or Maurice. So igues that just leaves Torts and sullivan for the job. And god no not Gallant. He is awful. However, with the islanders there is always a surprise. I would not be shocked if there was a sleeper candidate out there and I would not expect anything else from the bobbles. We shall see.

Jisles