FanHouse NHL Coach Hirings

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?

When you have a young and vibrant team such as the Los Angeles Kings, I would think that you'd want a young and vibrant coach that could allow the kids to develop and exude patience with the mistakes young players make.

The LA Kings, however, decided to go with an well-traveled coach in the form of Terry Murray, a dude used to success with veteran-laden squads.

Terry Murray, who guided Philadelphia to the Stanley Cup finals 11 years ago and has coached 737 regular-season NHL games, was hired late Wednesday to succeed Marc Crawford.

Murray, who turns 58 on Sunday, has been an assistant with the Flyers since 2003-04. He hadn't been a head coach in the NHL since being fired by the Florida Panthers following the 2000-01 season. He has a 360-288-89 regular-season record and a 46-43 post-season mark as a head coach with Philadelphia, Washington and Florida.

I can't dispute the fact that Murray has a good track record, and has been a steady influence for teams with stars such as Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, and Dino Ciccarelli, but I am puzzled as to why the Kings went to the retread bin instead of hiring and up-and-coming coach. Shouldn't a team like the Kings be dipping into the skilled AHL pool of coaching prospects?

The only thing I can think of is that Terry Murray is a patient, approachable coach, and the Kings think he'll be a calming influence on the younger players. Perhaps Murray can do in LA what Claude Julien did in Boston? I just hope Murray can handle the pressures of coaching a team that will make a lot of mistakes, because, despite his experience, Murray has never really had to coach a team devoid of star power.