To me, what Milbury did and what Garth is doing is anything but courageous, it's totally desperate, period. Good, well run franchises do not need to do the silly, stuff this organization has done since 2000.
Oh, and by the way, let's give Ted nolan a little bit of credit here can we. Do you think for a minute that if any of our prospects really showed they belonged in the NHL he wouldn't play them? Seriously, Comeu, Nilsson, Tambellini, and every other youngster brought up in his 2 year tenure where really not NHL ready, so they didn't play a lot. To think they should be given top 6 minutes or power play tie is nuts.
Unfortunatley, next year will be an absolute disgrace from the start. And one last thing, i said it earlier, no self respecting coach will get a second interview let alone an offer to coach this disaster. And honestly, I don't think for a minute that any self respecting former head coach should even want it. If the concensous is that Teddy wont get another job because he's a GM basher, than what about our owner and GM...why would anyone who's tasted success in this league come here to DIE.
I actually dislike talking about the popular issues. The problem is that along with the popular issues come the most unreasonable statements and ideas about the function of a team. Along with the quote above, taken from IslanderMania, I am going to respond to Scott Burnside's article about Ted Nolan's firing. This article is entitled: "With Nolan Move, Isles Go From Feel Good Story To Laughingstock," and can be found here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=3487345
I am linking the quote and the article together because they address the same subject, that's obvious, but they also take the same tone. It is almost as if the poster read the article, believed it, and posted taking the sentiments from the article as his or her own. That is reasonable, Mr. Burnside makes a decent point in that is is ridiculous in firing a coach that got something out of the roster when everyone said that the team should be on the bottom of the standings. This is of course on top of the fact that the Islanders have had six, going on seven coaches in the last 8 years.
The thing that Burnside also points out is that it is the teams that struggle that go through coaches like toilet paper, and usually treat them as such as well. So good on Scott for picking up on that one. I like to talk about the obvious issues too. That makes everything all better.
The reason why teams do that is because it is impossible to be a winner without balance. In fact, to pull a John Buccigross for a minute:
"You can't ride a bike without balance, so why try and grab the mike without talent." - Atmosphere
I would have the exact lyrics if I could remember the name of the song, I'll edit this when I can remember. Nevertheless, keep up the good job Bucci.
The point is that when teams in any sport do this type of thing it is because they are seeking to achieve balance. Team management will usually do what it likes. Here the Islanders management has sought to build a winning team.
For the first seven or eight seasons they tried to build a winner by buying talent. That certainly could work, but the problem is that the team has had difficulty attracting talent. It did not seem to be that big of a deal when the team had attracted Peca, Osgood, Yashin, and Co. in the early 2000's, but really none of those guys proved to be game changers. Osgood was always there to hold DiPietro's spot and Peca became good trade bait. We all know the Yashin story. The thing is that the teams of 2001-2003 weren't really that bad. They were consistently in the playoffs and they fought. The problem was that the team never escaped the first round. After that, Laviolette was fired and the team was lost.
So now, five or six year later, the team is looking to get better. The problem is not Charles Wang exactly. Wang does not know hockey, but he does know business. It is good for business to have a winning team. It just so happens that Wang does not know exactly how to build a winning team. That's not to say the team is not trying.
To that end Garth Snow, after trying to keep to the 2001-2004 model tried to buy talent and failed. So what to do? Pick a new direction and go.
Garth ultimately picked the direction that was popular on the message boards and with the fans in general, i.e. a rebuild. To accomplish this rebuild Snow had to replenish the farm system while also attempting to pick some topflight talent. At the 2008 draft he showed what some people in the hockey world acclaimed as savvy. He turned his fifth overall pick into two extra picks and Josh Bailey. This really was smart. In a year or probably two (maybe even three) the Sound Tigers may be a mirror of the Chicago Wolves. Shortly thereafter, the team will start an upward trend.
After the draft, Snow sought to find another veteran leader and a puck moving defenseman. That was it. I though he should probably add one more player, probably Ladislav Nagy, to the fold. If anything Nagy would add to the team's entertainment value. That is important if the fans have to deal with a losing season. Nevertheless, Snow seems to have executed a plan. He got a veteran that is happy to play with his friend and show the kids a thing or two, and an offensive defenseman that will be an island in a sea of defensive defensemen. Perhaps Chris Campoli will learn a thing or two from our new Swiss friend. The bottom line is that Snow put the team in a position to play the young guys.
The way he did that was by following the last season off season's model and let the free agents walk. Well, he did really did not want that to happen last year, but hey, it was called for here. By letting Satan and Fedotenko walk he opened up some space for at least Comeau and Okposo to show what they are made of. Also, Jeff Tambellini is going to get his shot. My guess is that once these kids see more than 8-11 minutes per game they will bloom. At least Okposo and Comeau will. They both showed that they can score. Okposo saw the same time on the ice as Andy Hilbert last season, but played in 20 fewer games. He totaled 15 points to Hilbert's 16; mathematically that works out to about 29 points. Okposo scored 5 points in 9 games, which works out to 55 points which would have been the best on the team.
Ultimately, what this represents is that playing the kids over the grind lines last season might have saved Nolan's Job. If you add the say, 20-30 points Comeau would have scored and the unknown number of point Tambellini would have gotten, the team would not have fallen off like it did. He also would have shown that he was on board with the youth movement. However, Nolan did not do any of that. He decided instead to go with what he wanted. He played the grinders. Players who are usually slated for the fourth line got first and second line minutes. They got these minutes over young players that were more offensively minded and offensively talented. That was Nolan's mistake.
It is hard for a coach to talk to players about being team players while not trying to be one himself. It is no wonder then that it was reported that Nolan had lost the respect of some one the veterans on the team.
In losing Nolan the team is developing balance. Maybe. That depends upon which coach they choose as Nolan's successor. If they choose a coach purely as a babysitter then there will be another coach in the not too distant future. If not, then the team can do the smart thing and execute its plan for the next several years.
To tell the truth though, Ted Nolan was going to become a disruptive force. He did not vibe with management, and he did not believe that he should give the kids play time even though they would likely more productive than his coach's pets. So, while Nolan was a master at turning water into wine, he was turning into the one person preventing the rebuild.
And a note to Scott Burnside. You summed up the Islanders' free agent signings in your most recent article by saying this:
Given that Snow managed to lure only defensively challenged defenseman Mark Streit, with a whopper contract, and fading Doug Weightto the fold, it appears he need not have worried.
However, in grading the Islanders' free agent signings on July 1 you said this:
Long Island bound
Streit
We're not sure exactly what to make of Mark Streit and his 62-point campaign from last season; we're also not too sure what to make of the New York Islanders, who continue to be competitive even though, on paper, they have no business being anywhere but near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. GM Garth Snow will always have trouble attracting top-flight free-agent talent to Long Island until the Isles either build a new arena or dramatically improve the current barn. That means he's got to work a lot harder to build a winner. Streit, then, is a nice addition for a team that is long on work ethic and short on production. He can play forward if need be, but will add some nice jump to a blue-line corps whose top point producer, Chris Campoli, had 18 points.
Free-agency grade: B
So, which is it Scott? Come on man. I know you only gave the Isles a "B," but how do you rectify the first statement with the second? I guess you do not happen to be an Islanders fan, and that is fine with me, but at least be consistent. Where did you say that Mark Streit's signing being a B was contingent on Nolan sticking around? And last I heard, Mark Streit was the bargain pickup for free agent defensemen. Would you have preferred it if the Islanders paid Wade Redden six million plus per year? That is ridiculous. But, at least you get paid to do this. Sorry Scott, I usually agree with the things you write, but this time all you were doing was trying to prod Islanders fans. That in no way represents objective writing. At least be consistent.
By the way, it is after 12 so I make no representations about spelling, grammar, and syntax. If I messed up somewhere sorry. I'm usually a stickler for grammar and try to limit my conjunctions even when I write my blogs. High five Islanders fans, I'll catch you on the flip side.
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