FanHouse GarthSnow

The NHL Lottery is a serious exercise in television programming. It takes an event that could be completed in less than five minutes and stretches it out into a 30 minute program that makes the jitters that much worse for the fanbases and teams involved.

That doesn't mean the Draft Lottery live on TSN Tuesday night was a bad thing, though. TSN did a nice job filling the other 25 minutes with interviews, prospect analysis and John Tavares vs. Victor Hedman hype tonight. But, at the end of the day, all we came to find out is the answer to the question "who will pick No. 1?"

If you thought the deadline week saga of Bill Guerin and the Islanders was over, think again. Today, Larry Brooks of the New York Post added some after the fact rumors to the fray. According to Brooks, the Islanders offered the Rangers the same deal the Penguins got, but Glen Sather didn't take it.

Instead, the Rangers ended up getting Nik Antropov from Toronto to help cure their scoring woes. Antopov has delivered in his short time on Broadway, scoring four points in five games and is +4. It's hard to argue that Guerin would have been able to do more than that, but we'll take another look at the trades that did -- and didn't -- happen on deadline day.

Islander fans are rightfully upset right now. Yesterday during the deadline frenzy, they witnessed a five day long hostage situation come to a disappointing end. No ones life was ever in danger, but their captain Bill Guerin and their faith in the team were both hung out to dry. After being held out of the lineup since Saturday due to potential trades, Guerin was finally shipped off to Pittsburgh for what could amount to as little as a fifth round pick. That's nothing to be happy about, for sure.

In an interview later in the day with TSN, Guerin confirmed that there had been another deal in place that fell through. The dealing of Guerin to Pittsburgh was a Plan B of sorts, something cobbled together after it became clear the Islanders had to deal their captain and were running out of suitors and time. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, GM Garth Snow did not show any disdain for the team that had presumably gotten him into this sticky situation with Islander fans. But he should have.

If you haven't been by your computer or television this weekend -- probably a good thing -- then you may not be aware of the situation that is currently unfolding on Long Island. For approximately the last 24 hours, Islander fans have been held hostage by the thought of their captain Bill Guerin being traded. They're not upset though, in fact it's more likely sugarplums are dancing in their heads at the thought of what kind of return the Islanders could get for the captain.

Still not sure what's going on? Well, you came to the right place. Let's get you up to speed.

The Clash once posed the question: Should I stay or should I go now? We take a look at the big names surrounding the NHL trade deadline and whether they'll be staying in place or going to finish the season in another city.

It's no secret that the New York Islanders are going to be sellers at the trade deadline. They've already shipped out Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli and, one would assume, they would be trying to send more veterans packing between now and March 4th in the hopes of bringing back draft picks or youth. Among those veterans is captain Bill Guerin and, as the Islanders have been decimated by injuries, he may be one of their only veteran bargaining chips left.

Late Friday afternoon, the Islanders and Senators agreed to swap three players and a draft pick, a move that made waves across the blogosphere. The basic breakdown of the deal seemed to be Chris Campoli for a first round pick, as the other two parts -- Mike Comrie and Dean McAmmond -- were very similar. They both have contracts that expire this summer and weren't doing a whole lot of anything offensively for their teams.

Given that both teams should be trying to stockpile draft picks (let's face it, whether or not Bryan Murray knows it, that's what the Senators should be doing), they're going to be looking to trade off veteran assets of value. So, could we see McAmmond and/or Comrie get moved again before the March 4th trade deadline?

The New York Islanders have quietly and methodically going about their business of choosing a coaching replacement for Ted Nolan. Given how Puppet GM Garth Snow and Charles Wang Dang Doodle have managed the team in the past, I'm rather surprised that the Isles have been so patient in their process.

According to Greg Logan of Newsday, the Isles are down to three candidates, and should make their decision some time in the next week. Given the nature of the Isles organizational woes, I'm rather surprised that coaches would be so eager to go to a team that could kill their career.

After a painstaking interview process in which he spoke with eight known candidates and contacted a few others, an NHL source indicated Snow has narrowed his list to three finalists. Former Atlanta coach Bob Hartley (pictured), former Toronto coach Paul Maurice and current AHL Providence coach Scott Gordon still are in the running, and Snow is expected to name one as the Isles' next coach early this week.

So, we have two retreads and an unknown (to most of us) coaching prospect. How do the candidates stack up?

John Tortorella is out of a coaching job, and the New York Islanders are looking for a new coach.

Put two and two together, and you get the Coaching Rumor of the Day, courtesy of Tampa Bay Online.

Former Lightning coach John Tortorella could be in line to take over the vacant head coaching position with the New York Islanders.

The Islanders have contacted Tampa Bay seeking permission to speak to Tortorella, the Tribune has learned. The Lightning have granted the Islanders their request to talk to Tortorella.

Do you really think such an arrangement would work? If Garth Snow couldn't get along with Ted Nolan, don't you think the fiery Tortorella would be an even more explosive combination in the Isles five-headed front office? I'd expect the Isles wouldn't allow Tortorella the same level of power to their new head coach, but who knows what the Isles are thinking at any one time?

Now, I can't be the only one who hopes this hiring happens. Tortorella on a losing team equals hella-fun post-game conferences. Just imagine the tirades the guy would go on after putting up with the Isles for an entire season!

When Ted Nolan was fired, I was rather shocked. Coaches usually aren't fired in mid-July, and I figured Nolan was doing decently enough with a rather poor Isles squad.

Then, our own Mirtle M.D. pointed me to this blog post, written on July 6th, by Chris Botta, a man who worked within the Isles organization for 20 years. Apparently, tensions have been brewing for a few months, and the parting of ways between coach and team shouldn't be as surprising as I thought.

Right now, there isn't much of a relationship between Ted and Islanders management. Despite Ted's success as a coach in junior, I don't believe the Islanders are confident he really buys into the youth movement.

The other tall hurdle is the immense damage from last season. From March 1 on, when the ship was sinking, awkward moments came daily. You didn't have to be the PR director of the team to see the stains.

It seems that Nolan was quick to point the finger, all too often, at his boss for putting out a poor lineup, rather than do what a head coach should do and take the brunt of the criticism. Unfair, but part of the job description.

After the jump: FanHouse bloggers discuss the firing and Nolan's future.

Of all of the NHL coaches who we could consider on the Hot Seat, Ted Nolan wasn't one I expected to be fired any day soon. The Isles seemed to love the guy enough to bring him out of his blacklisted exile, and he was a key component of their five-headed management strategy.

So, I was rather shocked to see that Ted Nolan is no longer employed by the Isles. The team made the announcement this morning on their official website.

New York Islanders General Manager Garth Snow announced today that Ted Nolan will not return next season as the team's head coach. Nolan had one season remaining on his contract.

"Ted has helped us achieve some success over the last two seasons, however it has become clear that we have philosophical differences and have decided together to part ways," said Snow. "Since last season and continuing into the summer, I have realized we do not share the same philosophies. I would like to thank Ted for his two years with the team and wish him the best.

Nolan was the darling of the NHL after leading his rag-tag bunch to a 40-30-12 record in 2006-07, and a rare playoff birth. Last season wasn't so good, however, as the Isles fell to 35-38-9 record.

It's a shame that Nolan is taking the fall for Garth Snow's poor management moves, but it's not as if Nolan is completely blameless.

Yes, the Isles don't have a great roster, but how can you explain the exceptionally poor performances from scoring threats such as Miro Satan, Mike Comrie, and Bill Guerin? The Isles Power Play finished 29th and their PK was also in the bottom half of the league.

In the end, Nolan simply didn't have his troops playing hard enough or tight enough, and Snow put together a roster full of defensive liabilities. As is almost always the case, the coach takes the fall.