On the Islanders Beat

Hopefully Snow will interveiw all of this candidates and not quickly hire the guy he knows best.

Garth should see if one of the Marx Brothers is available to fill the void behind the bench.

Are you kidding me? Gotta love the Isles Files part about devoted fans and their tattoos. Good luck finding someone with an Isles one. Why would someone waste their money on an Islanders tattoo only to need to have it removed when Wang relocates the team after his Lighthouse Project is rejected by the Town of Hempstead?

does anyone feel that any of these retreads is a better coach than Ted Nolan??? I don't. We had a good coach but the ex-backup goalie got rid of him. hey garth, nice trade getting ryan smyth for a month.

"Retreads"? Do you try to sound dumb to be funny or does it just come naturally?

ANYWAY, glad Garth seems to be taking his time so far to find someone who is with the program. Hartley is a good choice, as are a number of interested coaches. Trottier likes him, too. We'll see.

I find it odd that some of these guys with NHL experience want to coach this disaster. Out of all of them Quinnevelle seems to have the best track record...but Frei already made the point that Snowy will probably choose his buddy. As long as its not Torts we'll be ok

I think you can make an argument that a coach with a Stanley Cup ring might be better than a coach who only has a regular season award on his resmue.

Hey Anonymous: Nobody said it was not a word, it just makes no sense whatsoever in context. How the hell does calling them "to make over as if new"s make any sense at all in your anonymous little world?

You can't really win Metalchick ...if they hire a retread coach people will complain - if they hire an AHL coach people will complain because they don't know him ...

Which is why I'm taking a long break from posting here ...I'll read Greg's blog, but not anyones comments and I don't know when/if I'll ever post on here again. This blog has turned to crap ...all of the "anon" posters - many of whom are regulars here ...all of these negative Isles "fans" ...between Frei and Brian G's nonsense it really makes posting here a drag ...

Certainly enjoyed posting with some of you - Steady, Nick, 19 Isles, Mass, SW and anyone else I cant think of off the top of my head ...

Take Care ...

AZS

"...This blog has turned to crap ...all of the "anon" posters - many of whom are regulars here ...all of these negative Isles "fans" ..."

I know exactly what you mean, AZS.

AZS--Why are you announcing your intentions to ignore the blog? Just do it. I suspect its an attention getting ploy, just like the children who talk silly crap on this blog. MetalChick and the grammar are case and point. Grow up.

greg, thxs for the update.

AZS - just ignore the trolls...they will go away soon enough. You have some GREAT input...Stick around!

The post on the last blog was not me by the way...Duhhh...Something about Messier and canadiens or soemthing. God you would think the kid got bored!?!

I think we can all tell when it is really us or not. It is one troll making up a bunch of different names......Who cares. Just ignore!

I have made my pick for our new coach. Quenneville .... Read up on him on top of all I already knew......He would be my pick! Just an opinion!

Steady, I agree. My preference would be for Quenneville. There's a suprisingly accomplished goup of coaches unemployed right now but it seems with Quenneville's track record and what I've read about his coaching approach, he'd be the best fit for this club right now.

AZS

Just take a break, and come back when it will only be us regulars on here. Always enjoy your comments so don't stop.

Steady:

I'm with you on this one with Quenneville. I don't know about Hartley, or Maurice, but I would feel more secure with Quenneville as coach, because he does have the patience to develop the young players here.

Whoops. Dictionary entry was mine. This thing has gone filter-happy again, I must have opened a new window.

MetalChick, the way it reads would be "does anyone think that these (coaches made over as new) would be better than Ted Nolan?" This makes absolutely perfect sense and does in no way "sound dumb" unless your grasp of the English language is deficient. But anyway...

The answer to the question is no, they are not likely to be any better than Ted Nolan.

As I have already written, and mass has noted, Hartley will be the next coach of the team. Given the egregious amounts of nepotism seen throughout the history of the Wang era, if you cannot see this, well, you probably can't be helped.

Since when has any meaningful position in Islander management been filled based on qualification, anyway?

I don't really know that much about Quenneville, except that he seems to be another horse on the NHL coaches merry-go-round.

I know I don't want Hartley, who was run out of Atlanta.

I know I don't want Gallant, who was just awful as the PP coach.

I know I don't want some no name brand college or AHL guy.

I know Maurice sucked with Toronto and they had Sundin and we don't. So I don't want him.

So that brings me around to Torterella. Does he have the patience to develop young talent? I don't know?
Will he be able to deal with crybaby DP? Still don't know?
Can he take this bunch to a new level? Beats me?

But, I know that the guy hates to lose and that the fire in his belly burns hot. I know that he's got passion and an explosive temper and that he doesn't pull any punches.

I'm sick to death of losing. I want somebody in here who can kick some ass. Last year was like watching a zombie movie, as guys just went through the motions. We need a guy here with that inner drive to win, no matter what. We need someone who can't sleep at night after losing a game. We need someone who brings fire and brimstone to a losing team.

So, I guess that I want Torterella. Because nobody else answers that description............Sir William

"Certainly enjoyed posting with some of you - Steady, Nick, 19 Isles, Mass, SW"

Damn,

I didn't make AZS' Top 5 list.
Geez AZS, I guess it's time to put my foam finger away until the start of the season.

Sigh....

Okay, Bob "Hava" Hartley is up next.
What are the odds of Kovalchuk coming with him?
Less than Sundin coming with Paul "The Rocket" Maurice?
Okay, never mind.
Snow's old buddy Hartley.
Hmmm...

Bill, Tortorella has been discussed and is the wrong choice. I will repost my views here verbatim:

"Anyone thinking Tortorella is a good idea is an idiot and should go shoot themselves in the face right now. If Nolan is a "Players Coach", as we've all been led to believe since the long-long ago, and can motivate and get the very, very most out of his players, then John Tortorella is the diametrical opposite. He's the guy that just got fired for being an insufferable a hole to his players and completely losing their respect. That won't go very far on a talentless team that cannot score and thusly cannot win or compete. Here's what happens: the team loses all the time. So he yells and screams and stomps his feet and players realize he's a douche and tune him out, and then you have little mutinies and cliques in the locker room and more division on top of the already inexcusable losing and well that just isn't very much fun now, is it? So stop the Tortorella BS. At least, learn to spell his name before you make him head coach."

And that still stands. Firey, yelling, screaming a-hole types are for teams with talent that underachieve and need their asses kicked. That is not what this team is. Since this team is devoid of talent, no matter how much you kick its ass, it wont make a difference. Accept this, and move on.

FREI...."Anyone thinking Tortorella is a good idea is an idiot and should go shoot themselves in the face right now"

I don't have to read any further than that.........Sir William

Bill,

Excellent! Then the possibility exists that you are learning. However, you still use flawed, circular logic to make cases for both sides of an argument, which, of course, I easily break and disprove.

Where are the empirical arguments for Tortorella, aside from him being "Firey" and you being "Sick of Losing"?

I've shown and communicated why he is the wrong choice. Prove me wrong with some logical arguments, and I will again disassemble them. Until that time, give up on Tortorella, or as I said, at least learn to spell his name properly. Is that too much to ask?

You will notice you are alone in advocating his hiring. You will remain there.

FREI ....You are right!! It's TortOrella. Just goes to show that there's a first time for everything..........Sir William

BILL

See, you're learning! Its apparently slow going, but progress is progress, especially around here. Congrats.

-Frei

Frei... Thanks for pointing that out for me. I really appreicate it.....Sir William

A survival guide to your team's nuclear winter

"Keep the faith. Just know that something will break right some day, some way, and endure for more than a season or two. It may take a century, but hey, the Red Sox and White Sox have won three of the last four World Series, so anything is possible."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/john_rolfe/07/21/nuclear.winter/index.html?eref=T1

Islanders Follies

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0807/nhl.islanders.follies/content.1.html?eref=T1

The above is something to read. If your like me always looking for something to read about the NYI in the summer here's some more.

Wait two days ago SI was bias and 100% against the Islanders, Snow and Wang.
Now we're posting comments about keeping the faith from SI.
Which is it?

The back up goalie is interviewing for open positions?
Man, someone wake me up!

Isles fans probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that owner Charles Wang and GM Garth Snow have hired Colin Powell to replace recently departed coach Ted Nolan

OMG!

Frei-

You are so off base it is scary. It is no secret I trash Snow and Wang daily and point out my reasons why. Yet, you trash absolutely EVERYTHING this team does. Thes second you got on the teams Defense, your gig was up!

I called you out as a Rangers fan last year and I was correct. I don not care what you post, that is the truth. Go and re-read half of your posts. It shines through you like the dirt under a Rags fans finger nails.

I loved Nolan as our coach. Again, no big secret there. Yet he HAD TO GO or Snow had to go....I wanted Snow gone, but that did not happen. I do think it was a bad decision, but now we need a new coach. If the new coach is exactly like Nolan, yet gets along with Snow and they will work hard together....THAT IS AWESOME!!! IF you liked Nolan, than you should want someone like him!

I am in Quenneville's corner. He did well with the Av's and then ran into a buzz saw called Detroit. His team was banged up, and they would of never beat the Wings anyway. Call it a HUNCH....Call it an Oracle moment....Call it what you want.....I think he is the guy for the job! Not saying I know everything about him or any of these guys, except for what we read......Just have a hunch.

Too bad the Oracle already had the previous vision of a no name coming here....Ughhhhhhhhhh

SIR WILLIMA - So that brings me around to Torterella. Does he have the patience to develop young talent?

Huh? You don’t know if he has “the patience to develop young talent” but you want to him to coach a team whose entire stated plan is to develop young talent?

Forget the lighthouse project and relocate the team somewhere else on the island. This team needs a new image and a new location. You want to rebuild....then start fresh somewhere else. This team stinks, the owner and GM stink. They said if their rebuilding plan works we, as fans, wont see a respectable product for at least 4 years. Then again we havent seen a respectable product in well over a decade so they just keep feeding the stupid fans the same garbage year in and year out. My prediction...within the next 4 years when the "plan" should work...wang sells the team. The only reason he's clinging on to a product that constantly bleeds money is the lighthouse project....and if that fails goodbye islanders or rather hello new ownership. By then they'll tell us we have a new plan then trade away all the up and coming talent and we can officially call the GM Snowbury.

I'm going to directly quote some of the comments made in this blog entry and comment.

***** Posted by isle27: I think you can make an argument that a coach with a Stanley Cup ring might be better than a coach who only has a regular season award on his resmue.

Tortorella and Quenneville, I believe, both have rings. Neither was required to develop a team out of nothing

***** Posted by Frei: As I have already written, and mass has noted, Hartley will be the next coach of the team. Given the egregious amounts of nepotism seen throughout the history of the Wang era, if you cannot see this, well, you probably can't be helped.

Sometimes a friendship between the Coach and the GM is a GOOD thing. Sometimes not. I don't think that is a reason to avoid Hartley as a Coach. His lack of success, OTOH, is.

***** Posted by SIR WILLIAM: I know I don't want Hartley, who was run out of Atlanta.

Hear Hear.

***** Posted by SIR WILLIAM: I know Maurice sucked with Toronto and they had Sundin and we don't. So I don't want him.

Maurice didn't suck in TO. He had perhaps the only GM in the League who could be unfavourably compared to Milbury. He had a Board of Directors that was only interested in making money in the hottest Hockey market in the World. And besides, he was funny as he77. This will be needed this season, trust me.

***** Posted by SIR WILLIAM: So that brings me around to Torterella.... But, I know that the guy hates to lose and that the fire in his belly burns hot. I know that he's got passion and an explosive temper and that he doesn't pull any punches.

Yeah, he has a temper and doesn't pull any punches. This is not a combination that works well with kids. He77, it doesn't work well with veterans. Nothing like the ability to ensure your starting Goalie knows you have no faith in him in the middle of a Playoff Season to make me feel all fuzzy and warm about Torts taking over the team.

***** Posted by SIR WILLIAM: I'm sick to death of losing. I want somebody in here who can kick some ass. Last year was like watching a zombie movie, as guys just went through the motions. We need a guy here with that inner drive to win, no matter what. We need someone who can't sleep at night after losing a game. We need someone who brings fire and brimstone to a losing team.

If that's your recipe, Poor Torts isn't gonna sleep much next season. I, too, am sick to death of the losing. I just think we need a Coach who can develop a team from scratch and I don't think Tortorella is the guy.

Posted by Anonymous: The back up goalie is interviewing for open positions? Man, someone wake me up!

Ahhhhh, shadddup!

Posted by Anonymous: Isles fans probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that owner Charles Wang and GM Garth Snow have hired Colin Powell to replace recently departed coach Ted Nolan OMG!

DIAGF

Posted by Steady: I loved Nolan as our coach.

Me, too.

Posted by Steady: I am in Quenneville's corner.

Too bad.

Paul Maurice FTW.

They should get someone good from the AHL who still has something to prove and is used to dealing with kids who'll make mistakes. And I know Stirling fit that description, but he flopped in part because he had a divided, veteran team.

Well done Scotia....

I am down for either Quenneville or Maurice.
Can't help but like what Quenneville did with Colorado last year with a bunch of kids and some often injured but long in the tooth
one time stars.
Except for the injured part...that sounds familiar.

But my money is on Hartley.

Which means we will get Gallant.
(Please, no)

Huh? :confused:

11:07 was not me Scotia

Nova- Quenneville did not develope kids this year in Col. ?? Were you out on the Time Bandit getting crab or what ???

Nice post Nova... I'm with steady on Quennevile, but Maurice wouldn't be a terrible choice.
the next coach is going to have to deal with a circus. No matter how you slice it this franchise will not have stability until Wang finds another hobby.
Forget about YOUTH, that is a not-so-accurate term when describing the Isles. Okposo is the only "kid" from the last two drafts that will be on the team in October. But they are INEXPERIENCED and there will be at least 6 new faces (under 60 games with the Isles)
Weight (0)
Streit(0)
Sim(2)
Okposo(9)
Comeau(54)
Nielsen (31)
Hillen, Brennan, Jackman, Spiller?
The new coach will need the stones to work with Snow. That wasn't an easy task, even after establishing success with the team. So it might be a case of BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS...

Hope for Quenneville,,, but expect Dunham....

A lot of us said that this was the summer where Snow would have to prove himself. What has he done:
1. Draft. I liked the approach because I wasn't sold on the fact that Filitov would be available for some time. But that looks like it was just bad speculation and he will most likely be in an NHL uni this year. It's too early to tell, obviously, but if Bailey, trivino and Petrov are on the team in 2010 it will have been a AAA draft.
2. UFA... NADA. This board made a big deal of Streit. Streit is a good player, but IMO he's not a $4M player. He's a 3rd pairing "D", who will QB your PP, but he's a defensive liability. YES, he had 62 points... those assists are going to be hard ot come by if you're expecting Comrie, Guerin and Weight to be "finishers". Oh.. I forgot... they have Jeff "the sniper" Tambellini. Streit made $600k last year, he was probably going to get $2-2.5M before Snow inflated his asking price. We'll see.
Weight? I thought he was worried about getting guys like Nielsen, Walter and Bailey opportunities...Unless he makes some trades they have 4 centers over 30 (Weight, Sillinger, Park) and Comrie... what room did he make?
3. Firing Nolan may have been necessary in July, but not in December. Wang and Snow handed Nolan two crap rosters and he deliveredone to the playoffs, and made the second one interesting for a much longer period of time than expected. To say that this team is going with a YOUTH movement is a joke. They have the same general mix of youth and veteran leadership as any other team. I would bet that Weight, Guerin and Sillinger actually make the mean age of the team greater than most... and the only "D" under 30 will be on the third pairing... if at all.

this could have been handled so much better, and the team would have EARNED a little respect around the league.

So far, IMO, he hasn't done anything. I really want him to succeed, becasue if he succeeds, the Isles succeed, and we all get an entertaining product on the ice.

But... what we have right now is chaos...

I'm impressed that some troll remembers the Voyageurs, even if he can't spell, but that wasn't me. Is it some rite of passage here that you get your handle stolen by a troll to disturb (expletive deleted), errrr... crap? If so, I guess I belong, now. Woooot!

505, I was confused by the use of the word "debriefed".

And Steady, Quenneville got to develop the young talent he had in the context of a continually competitive team with experienced and talented veterans. I don't see that here.

I'm not saying that I would scream, gnash my teeth and rend my clothes if Quenneville were hired; merely that my first choice is Maurice.

Maurice>Quenneville>>Stirling>>>>>Hartley>>>>>>>>Tortorella>Gallant, IMO

No one has been mentioning his name, but I'd like to see Andy Murray get an interview to head coach the New York Islanders. His demeanor and hockey knowledge would be exactly what the Isles youth movement would need. Seeing as how he has not been mentioned, I think my vote (if I got one) would be for Quinevelle.

In the final analysis, I may be biased in favour of Maurice, because he has been a mainstay of Canadian Hockey coverage, given that he coaches in the center of the universe, Toronto, Ontario. He's always got something interesting to say, even if his team sucks out loud. He never criticizes his players in the media and he knows how to handle media pressure. These are all good qualities to have in our situation.

It is also fair to say that this is a strange youth movement, given the number of 23-26 year old near-rookies we may be playing this year. However, I do not see these guys as the foundation for a championship team. I expect that this year's draft class (and I still think we got a good one), together with DP and OK, will be the first steps in that direction.

Wouldn't it be so ironic if Snow chose Tortorella...a former NYR Coach? It would seem so fitting wouldn't it. Perhaps Torts could follow in the footsteps of Don "I love Fishsticks" Maloney, another former NYR!-and look what happened during his quest. Let's see if a 2nd string goaltender has the real smarts of a true GM....Snow's plow is on the line here folks w/regard to his choice of coach.

DP and OK as biulding blocks?
maybe just OK, ok?
The likelyhood of DP living out his contract here (another 12 yrs) is absurd.
I'd think a buyout is more likely than a trade, but there's always someone willing to pick up other teams pieces.
This is a very unpopular opinion, I'm sure. So take it easy and like a grain of salt.
OK on the other hand has yet to really brust his cherry enough to be counted upon in times like these. Yes, it's wonderful to have a young talent like him, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, the kid's a baby yet.
Not to mention the simple fact that if history does in fact repeat itself, OK will be traded sooner than later.
I'm tired of Wang, I hope he sells this team, I just hope the team isn't relocated.
8 yrs of him is enough. And just when it looks like things are getting better, they get worse and worse.
The puck hasn't dropped yet, I know. It's not the fans or the players (lack of talented players) it's the way these guys have been running this show. A glimmer of hope, somewhere... anywhere?

Nice job the Isles picking up a 2nd rounder and a pretty good prospect (5th best prospect the Habs had according to THN) for Gervais and a prospect named Volkov. Gervais was expendable.

Hey Al source? i cant find that anywhere

Good deal.

More picks to add to the stable. And a good prospect. Volkov is always rankied by the Isles as a good prospect but the Isles couldn't get him over here.

What?

Source, please.

TSN - nothing, THN - nothing, NHL.com - nothing, Isles website - Nothing... Even asked some Hab fans - nothing. Either this is still a secret, or it is fake.

Guys...come on...IT is the TROLL....None of that is trure...He is a lonely, lonely lil boy!

I saw it on one of the Isles Blogs to the left.

in order of the Poll, my Yes/No to possible coaches:

Bob Hartley - no
Paul Maurice - no
John Tortorella - NO
Bryan Trottier - no
Joel Quenneville - YES
Gerard Gallant - no
Scott Gordon - yes
Mike Sullivan - yes

These are the coaches I think would work for this team at this time.

Kevin T.

Hi Everyone im a blogger for the website hockeybums.blogspot.com and i am a habs fan, can anyone give me a link to this Gervais deal.....PLEASE!

Maurice, Quenneville and Hartley are all two time losers. Maurice and Quenneville never won anything in the NHL and Hartley won with a powerhouse team in Colorado. We certainly don't have the makings of that Colorado team on the Island.

Maurice has shown nothing . In ten season as a head coach he was out of the playoffs seven times. Hell, I can get that from Mike Milbury.

Quenneville seems to be one of those second tier coaches who can always get a job but never finishes in the money. He seems OK, but I have had enough of only OK.

Hartley did win a Cup, but he is not walking into a Colorado type team here. He won with superior talent. But he sucked with Atlanta which minus Kovulchuk is about even with the Isles talent.
So what make anyone think that he can do any better than he did in Atlanta?

Gallant...If Snow hires Gallant .........that will be it for me. I'll root for the Oilers.

Tortorella has 4 playoff seasons, 1 Cup winner and 2 Division winners in six years. And he has only coached one team.
Yes he has his faults (don't they all?). But it took 6 years for him to wear out his welcome in Tampa.

Does anyone expect the coach that Snow hires to be the same coach six years from now? Not me. I've been around too long.

I like the idea of a firey coach after watching last years snooze fest.

Hartley, Quenneville and Maurice are all about the same as Nolan.
Run of the mill NHL coaches.

I want something different. Someone exciting. Someone who took a 26 win team, to 37 then 47 and the Cup. That's progress.

If you guys have a fact based case for any of the other choices I'll be glad to read it.......Sir William

Sir William, I think that your analysis was very good and objective. However, we also have to consider the final line of Kevin T's post: "the best coach for this team right now." I haven't really endorsed anyone for the head coaching job, though my gut tells me Hartley, Quenneville, or Sullivan. Tortorella is a great coach, and you can't deny he gave a virtuoso performance (aided by Khabibulin living up to his nickname) to lead the Bolts to the Cup. However, he simply might not be the best leader for the group here.

I don't know if you're a Yankee fan, but Joe Torre would have definitely fit the description you gave of Quenneville - a second-tier manager who can get a job but can't really lead a team to the promised land. Suddenly, he comes to the Yankees, where he shows a steady hand over a franchise in turmoil, insulates his team from Hurricane Steinbrenner, and the result is 12 straight playoff appearances, 4 championships, and a guaranteed ticket for Joe into the Hall of Fame.

I'm definitely not debating the facts you've laid out, because I think you're correct. However, it will depend in huge part on the organization's needs - as long as Snow doesn't hire Gallant and only did that as a professional courtesy.

Scotty - if this blog is your source on this Gervais deal, I would caution against believing it. If this was from one of the Islanders blogs on the blogroll, please identify which one. I did a little detective work myself, and I haven't found a thing.

As I said before ... I do not know enough about the coaches to pick a "sure thing" coach for this Islanders team ... however ... I do know who I don't want coaching this Islanders team.

#1 Gallant ... No way ... No how ... the guy couldn't put a power play together ... how is he going to coach a team.

#2 Tortorella ... he doesn't have the temperment to coach "this" Islanders team or the goalie. Yelling and screaming doesn't get players to tune in ... it is more likely to tune them out. Torts won the cup with a powerhouse team in a weak division at the time .... so he can hang his hat on the Stanley Cup the same way Hartley could with the power house Avs... Torts was sucking up the joint last season in Tampa with a superior team to about 1/3 of the league ... I still say he tanked ... but that is just MO. I feel he's more suited for a veteran lineup on the cusp of greatness.

which takes me to #3...

Hartley ... Nuh uh ... someone stated it perfectly before ... I think it was Sir William ... he couldn't do anything with a young team led by Kovulchuk for the first 6 games .... and lets not forget .... that team also had Hossa at the time ... again ... they qualified for the playoffs in 07 playing in a weak division. The fact he's friendly with Snow is not a problem with me ... it's just that I don't feel he can work magic with the Isles ... vets or kids.

That is it for my definitely nots .....

I wish I knew more about Quenneville .... because I've heard he's a great motivator and teacher ... two qualities that is imperitive to the improvemennt of this team ... If he's hired I guess I'll learn more about him. LOL!!

Maurice? Again .... I'm not familiar enough with him to really make a qualified decision about him. I hear both good and bad things.... the question is .... does he have the important qualities to coach THIS Islander team?

Then we are left with minor league and assistant coaches..... hey ... ya never know... you can't really knock guys that are used to working with the younger talent on teams... look at Laves... he lost the locker room with the Isles ... and then took Carolina to a cup championship a few years later ... so saying the Isles need an established coach doesn't really hold water .... I think they just need the right coach .... with experience at NHL or AHL level.

All these coaches brought in for these interviews have had succeeded and failed at one time or another .... none of them brings a guarantee of success or failure ... we just need the right guy. I just hope that Snow is equipped with the judgement to make the correct pick. I'm not going to knock him about it ... because he's never picked a coach yet ... so until he does .... and we see the results ... we will not know for sure. Might take a few seasons to measure those results.

You can't blame Hartley for that start last season.

Sure, Atlanta had Hossa and Kovie, but they've had no center since Savard left, a weak D lead by a rookie and Isles castoff and inconsistent goaltending. They had a hot streak or two after Hartley left, but who's to say they wouldn't have turned it around with him? It's not like they went on to win the division after he left.

Either way, I don't think you can rate these coaching prospects on their win-loss records. The Isles need a coach that will help them take the next step..or the next few steps..whether or not Hartley or Quenville or Galant or anyone else will be able to do that can't be figured based on record alone.

Snow will do his homework and come up with the best man for the job.

By the way, I don't think there's anyway Tortarella gets it. If Snow got mad at Nolan for starting Dubie in a Rangers game, imagine how he'd feel the first time Torts pulled Ricky halfway through the 1st..then ripped him in the media after the game.

1010 - I didn't blame Hartley for the poor start ... In essense all I said he wasn't able to do anything even with stars on his roster... uninspiring play .... heck ... didn't known go through a 7 game winless streak and a 6 game winless streak?

So the crux of my point is that I don't think Hartley is the tonic for a team of the Isles' makeup.

Also ... you say that Atlanta had no center since Savard left ... so very true .... But did the Isles have a true #1 center??? Maybe a #2 center in Comrie.
----------------------------
Speaking of coaches ... the guy who runs my nephews' hockey program was just made an assistant coach of the Black Hawks ... the irony ... My brother told Snow on Friday ... think Haviland .... and Snow looked back at my brother with a big grin and a nod.... never saw him on the interview list ... but Snow knew who he was.

19 ISLES.... Was there ever a sterner, more iron fisted coach then Al Arbour? The great Hall of Famers on the Islanders still call him MISTER Arbour. I heard some of his rants on tape and they are right up there with Tortorella's. And Arbour molded a young team into a championship team.

Of course this team doesn't have the Bossy's or Potvin's or Trottier's like Arbour did, but my point was that Al was similar to Tortorella in his passion to win.

Tortorella may have had one bad season last year, but he also didn't have a goalie that could stop a beachball. You can't lay that on his shoulders.

And who says that players don't respond to yelling or screaming.
Tampa players made the playoffs 4 out of six years. So somebody must have responded, because the team went from 26 wins the first year, to 37 the second and finally to 47 wins and a Cup in the third year. Those results fly in the face of your theory that players don't respond to his method of coaching. If no one responded how did the team improve during those years?

Personally, I do not think that Snow will hire Tortorella. I think that he will make the "safe" choice and go for one of the bland retreads. When you hear the word "passion" does your mind think of Maurice, Hartley or Quenneville? How about Torts?

And we will get another bland season. And the coach will blame it on the players and the GM will balme the coach and the wheels on the bus go round and round......Sir William

Edit Key .... I said ... "stars on his roster... uninspiring play .... heck ... didn't known go through a 7 game winless streak and a 6 game winless streak?" .... known = Nolan .... that is what happens when you don't disable your auto-spell check in word. LOL!!

AZS ~ Just read your last post .... ya gotta keep coming on here ... don't let others bring ya down ... there are enough of us on here.... and how can ya forget 505??? He alone provides enough insight and a side dish of entertainment to make the effort to come here.

You give in ... the trolls win. Screw 'em!!!!

Sir William said ... "19 ISLES.... Was there ever a sterner, more iron fisted coach then Al Arbour? The great Hall of Famers on the Islanders still call him MISTER Arbour. I heard some of his rants on tape and they are right up there with Tortorella's."

Sir Bill .... Did you just compare Tortorella with Al Arbour???!!!

I didn't think so.

We are talking about two totally different teams ... actually 3 teams .... this Isles team .. the dynasty Isles teams .... and the SC Tampa team ... and two totally different coaches .... just because Al went to Tampa games while living there doesn't mean that Radar was giving Torts pointers.

The New York Islanders: Exhausting since 1994.

19 isles..atlanta was a team without a center that was trying to win, the isles will be a team without a center that will be trying to get better. different expectations, different job descriptions.

don't get me wrong, i'm not calling for hartley, just saying that if he turns out to be the guy..it won't be as terrible as some isles fans are making it out to be...

-0-

as for Tortarella, didn't he throw the bench on the ice during a game once? stunts like that are funny when tampa's coach pull them..when it's a coach from long island they're an excuse to bash the isles yet again

It's been the same people going back and forth about the same things over and over and over again. I can't stand it anymore.

Why so against Tortorella?? Becuase he's too passionate? Too confident in his own abilites? HE'S THE COACH THAT THIS TEAM NEEDS. He needs to push the youth to get 100% out of him. He needs to actually put DP in his F'ING PLACE if any of this nonsense about him bitching and moaning and running the team is true. He doesn't have the C (I'm aware goalies can't, but he still wouldn't if he had the opertunity) and is JUST A NETMINDER. Yes, he's with the team for a long time but he can't run it. We already have a backup goalie who's taking care of that (oy vey)

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see Torts jumping off the bench screaming at Ricky when he misplays a bounce. I would LOVE to see Torts getting into his players for not giving it their all. I would LOVE to see him pulling on the jersey of our "enforcers" (hah) screaming "IF YOU DON'T FIGHT HIM, I WILL"

6 Years
2 Divisons
1 Cup

People talking about how he wont work with snow and wang... yet they complain everyone is just a yes men to them... it's ridiculous. Hire the man to COACH A TEAM. that's his job. not snow's not wang's and it doesn't matter if they don't like that he told off a reporter or said something like "the ice girls are the worst creation in the history of hockey" or something to the effect of "they didn't play at all tonight"

WE NEED THIS

The only way the isles get better coach wise is if they hired the ghost of Al Arbor and Bill Torrey back....and find an owner that won't offer a 15 year contract out and keep's his nose outt'a the business. Hiring Snow, a 2nd string goalie as your GM was as absurd as hiring and firing Neil Smith and Ted Nolan-sorry, this organization ain't going anywhere folks, just around and around and around again and again and again...sad to say!

Check out my blog on the entire Atlantic Division over at Isles Nation!

http://www.islesnation.com/justin.htm

That is a direct link to my area. I hope to see you guys there soon!

19 ISLES...Yes I did compare Torts to Arbour in their desire to win. Here's the quote:

"Of course this team doesn't have the Bossy's or Potvin's or Trottier's like Arbour d