FanHouse Ted Nolan

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.

The #1 question any team should ask about any player: Does this guy add an overall positive value to our hockey club?

Ray Emery, despite all of his latent and natural talent, has far more minuses than pluses, and he was far too much of a poison for the Ottawa Senators to keep around.

The Sens wanted to trade the guy as far back as April, but it appears nobody took the apple from the tree of knowledge. Thus, the Sens finally just decided to cut "Sugar Ray" out for good, putting him on waivers with the intention of buying him out.

In the wake of several incidents involving both the team and member of the public over the past couple of seasons, Emery has been served with a buyout notice by the club and has been placed on NHL waivers.

If nobody decides to pick up the 25-year-old, then Emery will be bought out for one third of the remaining $6.75 million on his contract_ or approximately $2.25 million. Emery has two years left on the deal. He would then become a free agent and although several teams have expressed an interest in Emery, it's unlikely he would be able to sign anything but a two-way deal -- which would pay him considerably less were he not to stay on an NHL roster.

Some players, such as Dominik Hasek or Ed Belfour, have been able to get away with being Bad Boys because their level of player was so far above average. Emery? His play deteriorated to the point where he finished second last in the league with a paltry 89.0% save percentage. It's pretty easy to cut a guy who isn't performing.

If I was running an NHL club, I'd stay the hell away from the guy, even if he has loads of untapped talent. What coach wants to take on a guy that shows up late for practices, can't control his emotions, goes clubbing all the time, and creates a bad atmosphere in the dressing room?

Perhaps Ted Nolan and the New York Islanders? Then again, Nolan's past experience with Dominik Hasek might scare him off.

As difficult as it might be to believe, Alexei Yashin wants to return to Long Island. That's Yashin and his wife, Long Island native Carol Alt, pictured at right at a premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in Manhattan back in April.

Just one year after the team decided to buy Yashin out of the last four years of a 10-year contract, Yashin's agent, Mark Gandler, told Newsday's Greg Logan that his client wants to come back to the New York Islanders on a one-year deal.

But that's not what's most unbelievable about this story. What's most unbelievable is that the Islanders are actually considering it. It was only a week ago that the team announced that it was letting go of a passel of veterans, all in the interest of giving their younger players a shot at significant minutes next season.

Not that Yashin doesn't deserve some consideration at this point, even if it's not on the Island. Playing last year at Yaroslavl in the RSL, Yashin had 16 goals and 27 assists in the regular season and added eight goals and six assists in 16 playoff games as his team made it to the Finals.

So what's the hangup? According to Gandler, the Islanders seem to be balking at his asking price, while the agent also seems to think that Yashin's fractured relationship with Islanders head coach Ted Nolan might be a bit problematic as well.

Color me shocked. So should Islanders fans be worried? Maybe. After all, Yashin had a very close relationship with Islanders owner Charles Wang, one that resulted in the team holding on to the veteran a full season or two longer than they should have. Is that relationship enough to move Wang to direct his hockey professionals to bring Yashin back? Stay tuned.

See that? That is Long Island's newest whipping boy, Andy Hilbert, somehow missing a point blank chance on an empty net during the third period of last night's game against the arch-rival New York Rangers. If he had managed to get the puck in the net, and not his stick, he would have tied the game. Instead, the Islanders could not find the tying goal and the Rangers tacked on one more to win the game, 4-2. This image is not the reason for the ranting and raving that you are about to read, it is simply the icing on the cake for Hilbert-haters on Long Island.

Hilbert has two points all season for the Islanders, despite playing in each of the team's 23 games. Two points. For a winger who is not an enforcer and is supposed to score, those numbers are simply mind boggling. He has, how do you say, as many points as six NHL goaltenders, including teammate Rick DiPietro. Yes, Hilbert has the offensive talent of a goaltender. For the sake of emphasis, it should also be noted that he has as many points as goon Chris Simon and fewer points than offensively-challenged blue liners Andy Sutton and Brendan Witt.

How did this all go so horribly wrong?

It's nearly American Thanksgiving and we've reached the quarter-pole of the NHL season. What better excuse than to give our some faux NHL awards? If Gary Bettman was mean and called off the season right NOW, this is who should win.

Hart Trophy (MVP) - Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay.

Prince Vince leads the NHL in assists (20) and points (34), and also sports an impressive +10. The tall centerman is arguably the best 2-way player in the game right now, and the hardest to contain thanks to his skill and size. Pat Burns approves of this choice.

Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender) - Pascal Leclaire, Columbus.

The Blue Jackets have no business being in the playoffs, but Pascal Leclaire and his holy-crap(!!) 93.5SV% have kept the BJ's in the thick of things. Leclaire's stats are more impressive when you consider the shoddy defence he has to play behind. Besides, somebody with teeth that nasty looking needs a little love once in awhile. Boston's Tim Thomas and his 94.1SV% is a very close second, in my books.

Norris Trophy (Top D-Man) - Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit.

When you ever make a list of the NHL's top defensemen of all time, you'd be remiss in not having Lidstrom's name in the mix after putting Bobby Orr in his usual #1 slot. Besides leading all NHL d-men in scoring, Lidstrom is still shutting down the league's best snipers (His +14 is the second best among defensemen), and keeping the Red Wings near the top of the league standings. Gonchar and Zubov put up impressive scoring totals, but are nowhere nearly as effective as Lidstrom is in the defensive end.

During last night's post-game presser Ted Nolan gave the following answer:

"We were trying to change the culture on Long Island, bringing in a different breed and getting the people excited again," Nolan said. "From the start of the season, we watched maybe 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 people at some of our games. Toward the end it was packed. . . . Hopefully we can win the hearts of our fans back and get that pride back on Long Island that was gone a long time."

With the way his team played down the stretch and through the first round, I'd say he and Garth Snow are well on their way to doing just that. He was also asked if the Sabres were something he'd like to model and he quickly answered with an emphatic, "No." Adding that skill and speed are one thing, but that you cannot underestimate grit and strong will.

He is certainly right about that. And,if you missed the implication that the Sabres don't have those things, then you weren't listening.

While another first round exit is tough to swallow, this one actually points towards a future that has promise as opposed to being as good as it can get.

To truly change the culture on Long Island, expunging the last vestiges of the Milbury Regime would not only be a good start, it's an imperative. Snow should already be working on a plan to get rid of Yashin and Satan and re-sign Ryan Smyth, expecially considering how much of the future they mortgaged to get him. For a team with little depth, trading off 3 first-rounders no matter how mundane their development leaves a vacancy.

That team is 2 good forwards (center and winger) and 2 defensemen away from being a real contender. The role players are all excellent and Nolan is the perfect coach for them. Trent Hunter is the real deal and Randy Robitaille a solid 2nd line centerman.

Ta,

Seeing as he's trotted out every other trick available in his press battles, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he did. For Game 4, it was another controversial goal that had Ted angry. After a shift by Kozlov/Yashin/Satan that had me checking to see if gravity had temporarily reversed itself, the puck wound up underneath Ryan Miller and he and the puck were pushed into the net by both Satan and Brendan Witt (who came in skates first).

To quote the NHL Rulebook:

Rule 69.6... In the event that a goalkeeper has been pushed into the net together with the puch after making a stop, the goal will be disallowed....

In the event that the puck is under a player in or around the crease area (deliberately or otherwise), a goal cannot be scored by pushing this player together with the puck into the goal.

The play was not reviewed as it is not reviewable. There was a conference with the league to ensure that the rule Leggo was applying was indeed the right one. During the post-game show on WGR550 last night, Brad Riter got confirmation from the league that the rule quoted above was the correct one in that situation.

Nolan's repsonse, "I don't care what anyone says, that's a goal!"

Just like Vanek's goal in Game 3 was not a goal either, right Ted? The replay that both Vs. and TSN had, which Islander's Army has here) clearly showed the puck entering the net and going behind the post. Nolan's argument has been that the puck disappears so you don't have incontrovertible proof. Well, I hate to break this to him, but the puck disappears because it went behind the post, which is, in fact (not opinion), inside the goal. There's no way for the puck to be behind the post and not be completely in the goal. Going back to physics, the puck didn't teleport away briefly in a fit of brownian motion or carried on a cosmic string to an alternate universe for a split second. It was in the net because you could logically deduce it was. It was a goal.

Now, I was convinced the calls would go the other way both times while watching it, as I've seen similar situations end up with different results. Such is the psyche of a long-time Sabres fan.

Sorry, Teddy, you've done a great job this series but the difference in these games has been that the Sabres have manufactured the breaks you're complaing that they're getting and your guys haven't. Victimology will only take you so far as a motivational tool. At some point you have to put a sock in that and move on. Lindy Ruff has had to learn that the hard way, and maybe winning has something to do with the change. But, regardless, there's going to come a point where your team isn't the underdog and I hope for your guys that you act accordingly.

Ta,