Today, the New York Islanders took a giant step towards becoming a better team, at the same time, the NHL Old Boys Club got a much-needed kick in the ass.
It appears one of the New York Islanders’ most-beloved players was partly responsible for brokering the deal which allowed coach Ted Nolan another shot in the NHL.
Sources told Sportsnet Pat LaFontaine, with Neil Smith’s blessing, was instrumental in bringing aboard Nolan as the Islanders new coach.*
— Quote taken from article: “Islanders can thank LaFontaine” from www.sportsnet.ca on June 8, 2006
I would like to congratulate the Islanders for having the balls to do what all the other teams in the NHL were too afraid to do. Hire a winner.
Ted Nolan: The Winner
Nolan Coached the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to 3 consecutive Memorial Cup Tournaments, winning the Canadian National Junior Championship in 1993. His first NHL gig was as an assistant coach in Hartford for one season in 1994.
The Buffalo Sabres hired Nolan as their head coach the next season. In his second season as Sabres Head Coach, he won the Jack Adams Trophy in 1997, taking the Buffalo Sabres to an Eastern Division Title. Then everything fell apart. He didn’t get along with his star goalie Dominik Hasek and Hasek stated as much publicly. He had a strained relationship with the Team’s GM John Muckler. When the season ended, Muckler lost his job and Nolan was offered a “token” one-year contract extension by the new GM Darcy Regier. Nolan refused, rightfully stating he deserved and had earned better.
After leaving Buffalo, Nolan received two offers, one was for the Head Coach position on the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1997; and the other as an assistant coach in 1998 for the New York Islanders. These weren’t the kinds of offers other Jack Adams winners were receiving and so Nolan turned them down expecting a better or higher-profile offer, but it didn’t come. That’s it…just two offers in the past 9 years and only one of them was a Head Coach position for a bad team—at the time—in a bad hockey market. This for a proven NHL Head Coach who has shown that all he knows how to do is win.
This prompted rumours that Nolan had been labelled a “GM-killer”—for what he did to Muckler—by the rest of the NHL GMs and had therefore been blacklisted by them. After all, Muckler is a respected member of the GM fraternity— aka, the NHL’s Old Boys Club.
Nolan himself has alluded to the possibility that his inability to get a decent NHL Head Coaching job offer may be racially motivated. I won’t go that far, but I will say that I do believe he got blacklisted by the league’s GMs for what he did to Muckler. Although, as far as the general public goes, I don’t think we know the full extent of what he did do.
So, Nolan went back to doing what he did best…winning. Most recently he did it in Moncton, taking the host Wildcats all the way to the Memorial Cup final. This guy belonged in the NHL, and no one had the balls to give him a real shot, until now.
I applaud LaFontaine for urging the Islanders to take the chance on Nolan—although I don’t really see this as a gamble. I believe that by hiring Nolan, the Islanders have guaranteed themselves a playoff birth next season and they’ll have one of the most improved teams in the league. Nolan is a master at motivation, so don’t be surprised if you see Yashin have one of his best seasons too.
The Islanders always had the skill, but now they’re going to have the grit and determination too. I’m very happy for Nolan, and I’ve found a new respect for the Islanders organization.
Of course, this also means that there is yet another team that will be better than my beloved Maple Leafs…Oh well, there is always the hope that the Sens and Habs will fall flat next season once free agency ravages their rosters…there…I feel better again.
What are you thinking?