On the Islanders Beat

Great signing. That's cheap, he definitely would've gotten more on the open market next offseason.

Great player to have, nice to see someone taking less to stay with the Isles, rather than taking more just to come here for a season or two.

I can deal with $3 mil per year for two years. We're not overpaying for arguably the most solid d-man on the roster. Of course, I'm expecting an argument, the way things are going on this blog....

Love Witt...Guys like him are hard to fine these days. He has the heart of a lion! 3 Mill is good money, but if anyone on this team deserves it, it is him!

If he is healthy at the end of this year and we are toast, he can fetch a nice kid or two from a team needing his defensive prowess and snarl for a cup run !! Not saying I want that.....Would love to have him here for the rest of his career!

I'm with Steady...and Witt will last longer than DiPietro.

The Isles are not stellar, but solid on the blue line...if they stay healthy.

And we got Dirty Harry too, so we are definitely going to have a tough defence for DP. Interesting

Great signing, I would hate to lose a guy like Witt - he has been THE man when it comes to getting in you face and being a shut-down man.

Great job Garth!

http://www.islesblogger.com

Witt's contract for next year is $3 million.

The extension does not give him a raise.

From previous thread....

goislesgo105 said ~"19Isles, I love reading your posts but you don't want someone who can score 48 goals and is +21 because we will come in last anyway???? That makes NO sense to me. The last time we won the cup ( and I know that it was so long ago that alot of posters on this blog weren't even alive) we had Mike Bossy on the team who scored 40plus goals every year!! It's true that we can stink with a 48 goal scorer but we'll NEVER win the cup without one. And isn't that the goal??? "

I enjoy your posts also goislesgo ... However I never said I didn't want a 48 goal scorer .... and you didn't get the point of my post ... my point was that even with a 100pt phenom player it doesn't guarantee success ... you can still end up in last place ... to even translate it to modern times .... Look at Rick Nash?? I don't think Filatov is going to be ready for primetime for a few years anyway.

The Isles didn't win the cup with just Mike Bossy ... there was a huge cast ... infact ... this past season's "Core of the Four" celebration emphasized that .... BTW .. Bossy scored 50 plus goals every year ..except his final abbreviated year ... that record will stay forever.

I also don't think Filatov is the next Bure .. maybe the next Samsanov or Kovalov ... which isn't too shabby .... but he's mono-dimensional ... speed with a great wrist shot ... and very enthusiastic .. but lacks size (I'm sure he'll fill out) and defensive IQ ... not the type of player that fits the Isles mold for now.

If Snow's strategy works .... he'll have nabbed himself a core of SIX top players in ONE draft year .... I have my fingers crossed.

Filatov will one day be a very good player ... but I think having Bailey's play making and scoring touch, Ness' great speed and PP QB skills with scoring touch, Niemi's accurate 100mph slap shot and passing ability in 2-3 seasons is a sum of talent that totally eclipses anything Filatov will do ... IMO... plus we get Toronto's pick in the 2nd round next season in another deep draft ... and from the look right now ... TO might be headed for a bottom 5 finish.

That is 4 top prospect players in exchange for dropping down 4 spots in a very deep draft ... I still am surprised some people have refused to see the genius of that move .. that has other NHL scouts and GMs praising Snow.

Aside from those 4 players ... the quantity of draft picks picked up by Snow allowed him to take a flyer on Petrov which MAYBE the next coming of Kovalchuk .. or God help us .... Kvasha.

I'll hold out on my critique of this draft for a few years ... but on paper ... I'll take those 4 players over Filatov.

Again .. my post earlier was to illustrate that a superstar goalscorer doesn't guarantee you squat.

Yes .. we will need a top scorer ... maybe we got that diamond in the rough in this recent crop?? Maybe. Palffy himself was drafted in the 2nd round 26th overall ... not exactly the sure thing top 5 rated talent... give these kids a chance .... BTW ... that season that I copied over from the Isles site.... that was Palffy's best season ever ... and in his distinguished career .. has advanced to the 2nd round .. ONCE.... and goislesgo105 .... that was pretty much my point. We need more than a sniper ... ALOT MORE!

Witter locked up for 3 years with that extension .... LOVE IT!! One more thing checked off the "To Do List" ...

Not to dig up the same old tired debate ... but here's an arguement ...

IF ... the Isles can extend Witt before his contract runs out ....

WHY .... can't they extend Nolan's ... or even Snow's contracts?

Just stirring up the embers of that debate ... or maybe we should just not touch that subject again.

BTW .. I love how some people get sucked into the Troll's impersonation posts ... good for a chuckle.

19 ISLES " WHY .... can't they extend Nolan's ... or even Snow's contracts?"
Snow will be here a long time. He has already won the power struggle against Nolan. By signing Witt he has made another stellar move on the road to a winning team. Another in a series of steps toward building a successful franchise.

By the way, wasn't that you I was talking down from the ledge on Draft Friday? Glad to see your post praising Snow for the moves he made on Sat.

The short answer on Nolan is that Wang does not want to.

I think Wang has realized that his ill advised "I'm smarter than the rest of the NHL" idea of running a team by committee is over.
Wang ruled CA with an iron fist and I beleive that he now realizes that the same idea must be applied to a hockey team.

Some people here do not give Wang enough credit. My own opinion is that he has now looked at the other very successful franchises in the NHL (Devils and Red Wings and perhaps Anaheim) and saw that they all have one thing in common. A strong GM who has absolute control over hockey operations.
Wang has placed his faith in Snow and that faith is beginning to bear fruit. Wang is a shrewd enough businessman to know when
he was wrong and is smart enough to change what went wrong.

Wang will ride Nolan this season and see how he does with the younger players. If he begins to pull the same crap and sulk over
not getting his way with veteran players he will not make it till January.

Ted has his coaching future in his own hands. Get with the Snow program or get lost. It will be up to him. If he does well bringing the kids along, he will be rewarded with an extension. If not Bryan Trottier waits in the wings with John Torterella lurking in the back-
ground.....Sir William

Braveheart is in the Clan for another two years.

Bravo Garth.
Bravo Brendan for swallowing your pride and not playing ego-hurt with the money Streit got.
And committing to the cause.

ALL HAIL BRAVEHEART.

(Plus his daughter -wee one- did the best "Ware Awl Iwanders---YEAHHHH!!!" on Islanders TV last year).

Gotta love this...reward the guys who sacrifice for the team, keep the veterans happy and establish a culture that tells players "Hey, perform for us, and we'll take care of you." Plus, Brendan Witt is a class act.

Amazing to see how ESPN hockey "writers" slant the news to make the Isles look bad.

I'm reading an article about the UFA's signings and this "expert" is praising the Devils for signing Holik and the calls Weight "the aging Doug Weight."

Holik is 3 weeks older than Weight, both born Jan 1971.

In the past 3 season since the lockout Holik has 41 goals and 55 assists.
Doug Weight has the same 41 goals and 100 assists.

Yet the Devils get praised and the Isles get knocked.

It's the vast ESPN conspiracy, I tell you..........Sir William

Obviously the 00:45 was not me. I guess some people lead such shallow lives that they have nothing else to do with their time than to impersonate others. I hope you had fun......Sir William

So, would eveyone agree this was a great signing by Snow? Able to get a guy to stay eventhough he could have gotten more (probably) on the UFA market next year ...I would say so ...

Steady:

OK... read your last post from previous thread. I understand where you are coming from. I try to read everyday... but sometimes jump in after not reading for several days... and may get fooled by impersonators.

I just want this friggin' team to win... I am happy with the direction they are moving, I would like the Snow/Nolan thing to work out... but in the end I think that the GM is more important to this team than the coach is at this time.

I don't see any reason why this process of building needs to take more than 1 more year. Get a playoff spot this year... make some noise in the playoffs... and the following year load up (infusion of the "new" young talent and a big UFA in the offseason)for a run for the conference finals.

DOC

I'm glad Witt loves the Island enough to not look for more $ elsewhere after this coming season.
Holik? A better signing than Weight? yeah. Right.

19Isles....I do think this says it all about what the bobb...ooops....top thinks about Nolan....They just ripped up an old contract and gave a new one...to a very DESERVING man....505 pegged it ....BRAVEHEART....(sorry if someone else gave him the nickname last year...I forget who?).......

So now my questions is why keep Ted here??....Nolan would of gotten one of these open coaching spots in a second.....Snow and Wanger could of then easily put Trotts in his spot to start the re-building !!

Heck it could of helped sell tickets this year....."Trotts and the kids back on the island." "Trotts rebuilds the dynasty" Whatever....it may be....

Why not start Trotts now if they know he is the future? Why wait yet again for another year of a lame duck mgr ???

I admit I do not get it.....Do they want Ted to succeed? Do they want him to be the scapegoat when the team flounders this year b/c deep down they know they are not good enough? Then after he fails they can blame him and have Trotts come in next year after one more draft?

If I had a power struggle with someone under me, and I had a plan to go with people I did not believe the current coach would believe in, I would fire him TODAY !!!

Bring in the new guy and let him grow into his role with the kids...Let him manage the team as it changes. Let him tell you what he needs! A GM must be able to constantly talk with his mgr. HE must be able to always have a constant pulse of the lockeroom. He must ASK the manager/coach where he should be looking to fill the gaps and make this team a winner.....

Arbour and Bill Torre
Belichick and Peoli
Mangini and Tannenbaum

These guys were and are glued at the HIP !!!

If Snow wants Nolan out and they cannot work like this, than Ted should of been fired at the end of last year.

Just my opinion

***Love Witt.....and now signed two years can be used at the deadline to fetch more kids...WORST CASE SCENERIO....Bravo signing! All Teds idea from what I hear .... :)

Steady, the argument might even be more simple than that. As BD Gallof from Hockeybuzz told me when we had this conversation, it could simply be that Witt is a key player on this team regardless of the coach's future, and the two aren't connected in any way.

I personally think it's a mix of 2 things - BD's point and the up-and-down coaching Nolan's had here. Witt was a warrior and provided great things on and off the ice both years he's been here. Since he also seems to really like it here, an extension for him was a no-brainer. As for Ted, you have his first season, where he was a great coach and led an undermanned team into the playoffs. In addition, coach and GM seemed to be wonderfully in sync, to the point of Snow getting rid of guys like Nilsson and Yashin so the team would better fit the coach's personality. Then, you have a second year where some of his flaws became more pronounced. For example, he played favorites by leaving Dunham in too long, and that almost cost us the playoffs, but since they still made it behind Dubie everyone forgives that move. Last year, when guys like Hilbert and Fedotenko weren't scoring for long periods of time and still getting big minutes, the natives started getting restless. In addition, you had the coach and GM publicly sniping at each other, conjuring up images of Nolan as "GM-killer" that he had in Buffalo.

This year is Ted's make-or-break year, and I think that's why he hasn't gotten an extension. They might be giving him another chance since, once Smyth signed elsewhere, the plan changed moving forward. They likely want to see if Nolan is on board with the rebuild before doing anything rash, and if he coaches the team the way he did in 06-07 (style, not necessarily results) you'll see him rewarded. If this pissing contest continues, he will likely be fired. I'm not necessarily a pro-Nolan or a pro-Snow guy, I just can't understand why Snow being an inexperienced GM (2 years of GM experience vs. Nolan's 4 years as an NHL head coach, let's not forget that) means that many people automatically takes Nolan's side. We have a GM who's learning on the job by making some mistakes, even though he's vastly improving, and we have a coach who can, at times, be too stuck in his ways and too reluctant to adapt.

If Snow continues to grow into his role and Nolan buys into the youth movement, they'll be a team for years to come.

witt is the perfect shutdown defender...the last piece to a championship puzzle. but we need far too many pieces. I love the guy, he is a warrior. I think the Rangers were a Brendan Witt from winning the cup this year. And at some point during this deal, someone will give up a blue chip prospect to get Witt as the final piece of the puzzle, and the Isles will let him go. That will be a sad day. He is my favorite Islander. He is the best player on the team. By far. I appreciate the fact that he signed on for three more years of losing and 5,000 fan crowds. He is the man...

Good post Nick....we shall see !!

no one answered me on the ticket packages...Any of you season ticket guys have any advice on who to call ?? Or should I jsut call the number on the website ??

Emailed you about it. Don't know if he's still there, but he's a good guy.

Nick - Thanks for the email....I will call him !

The Islanders were failures last year when they missed the playoffs. Now, arguably the leader of the team that failed gets a pay increase. And people here are hapy, LOL!

So, where does this leave the Islanders with McCabe or Schneider? Does Snow consider either one anymore or has he solidified the defense enough? My guess is that he will only take McCabe as a cap space fill and force Toronto to throw in some kind of sweetener. I don't see a first round pick but perhaps something else of value. If Sundin decides to return to Toronto then Fletcher will be screwed.

And now go get Nigel Dawes. Is Snow too soft to raid the Rangers? I think this kid will be a big time sniper. A just under 2 million a year offer sheet costs a 2 nd round pick. Big deal for a guy with this potential.

The question is "Is Snow hard nosed enough to go for another teams player via the offer sheet route'?

Opinions........Sir William

Hey anon....The Rangers were failures and they let go their TWO BEST PLAYERS.....No Avery...No Jagr....Ohhhhhhhh and no Sahnny ..... I heard Gomez say "DOHHHH" all the way in NE !!!

SW:

I could be making things up but it seems like there is a "gentlemen's" agreement between GM's about the offersheet route. Especially after the bad blood between Aneheim and Edmonton. Now pissing off the Rangers really shouldn't be the issue as I don't see the two rivals making many deals but does this tarnish a GM's reputation or credibility with other GMs? I think this especially might be true because Snow is such a new GM and may want to avoid adding the negative press at such an early stage. If he was coming off his second Stanley Cup win I think the attitude would be much different.

In reality, it may just be that Snow wants to see how the pieces he has play out and is still a bit gunshy about losing picks. It really would be interesting though if he poached a player. I would be for it, I like Nigel Dawes.

WARNING!!! 19ish post ahead...

Snow v Nolan (Revisited)
When we left these two in April there was a chasm between them. Nolan had out performed Snow by a mile, but Snow was in the driver’s seat and the closest to Wang’s hearing aid.
Since then…
Snow has a good draft. He went against expectations and made some deals to rebuild a very shallow pool of talent. I don’t think any of us can honestly say they KNOW for sure this was the best move, but I think the majority of us agree with the strategy. Well.. at least I did. His first round selection though HAD to be influenced by Nolan. When your on the phone with your kid every chance you have, because you’re a top notch FATHER, you’re gonna get a ton of info on the captain and the highest touted kid on his team. This is purely speculation, but if the chasm was as wide as everybody says, then Bailey would have gone outside the top ten, as expected. Snow catching up.
In the UFA period Garth fills two holes. They needed a #1 center, a scoring forward, a PP QB and MUSCLE.
1. He gets another “B” center. Weight was an “A” center, and would have been an excellent compliment to a true #1. He may be a good filler for a year while Bailey prepares in the AHL and gets called up for injuries or with trade deadline moves. Not as bad a move when looked at against the backdrop of what was available at “C”.
2. Streit was over-paid for, but it was a good signing just the same. We’ll see how everybody feels when he is 1/5 of a solid PP… looking for the other 4 to respond. He is also paid more than guys who will most likely be on the ice 20% more than him… and in more CRUCIAL situations. This is somewhat quelled by a much deserved extension for Witt… but when Sutton slides into the #1 role they are going ot have to give him 6M/per… It will be great if he matures into a 6M defenseman…
3. His other signings are key as they give Bridgeport much needed depth. The team can compete while it rebuilds, and they should have pieces in the AHL that can step into NHL roles. He also has chips to make deals through September… and a few of those are highly likely.

Garth has slid himself into a position where if the kids are successful this year he may be around for a long long time. But PLEASE don’t kid yourselves. If there is a rift between Nolan and Snow, and Snow wins… this team will fall flat on its FACE!
Did everybody get zapped by the MIB little pen thingy… how many times did milbury blame a good coach for bad results from a poorly constructed team.

Nolan has done an OUTSTANDING job with a team that was picked to finish last in the league two years in a row. He was doomed from 7/1/07… but he still had a team that competed EVERY night and stayed in the race until the thin layer of talent crumbled under the enormous weight of playing without support.

All of the people that said he should have given the “kids” more ice time… WHAT KIDS???

Tambellini? Tambellini has gotten chance after chance and he doesn’t seem to have the wheels or upper body strength to deal in the NHL. I hope he has worked on that in the off-season because this year will make or break him.

Comeau? Comeau was tremendous last year, and got solid minutes, but just because he’s OUR best young talent, doesn’t mean he all-star caliber talent. He’s a solid 2nd or 3rd forward… and that’s what he was last year.

Okposo? No way they were going to throw him into the fire last year and waste the contract they signed him to. He is going to be a KEY Islander this year… 20 goals would be awesome… but we should all be happy with 15 goals and a solid two way year getting used to an NHL schedule.

Nielsen… he must be from Italy because there was a FRAGILE (fra-jeely) sign on his side. I really want to see him succeed, but he’ll get what he deserves this year. 4th line center with PK time and fill-in time when the PP saps the the top two centers.

WHAT ELSE DID THEY HAVE?

The only mistake he may have made was to allow the New England Mafia Boss (Don garth) and his consiglieri (Senor Dipietro) the perception that THEY control the day to day operations of the team… NO GOOD COACH would let that happen. He needs final say over who plays, who starts, who is sent to Bridgeport and who is put on waivers…

If anybody pushes Nolan out it will be DP… and that will be a sorry state of affairs. Look what happened in Buffalo… how many cups did they win after Hasek and Muckler jacked Nolan…

Give Ted an extension and all will be good in Oz! Trottier is NOT the answer…

"Look what happened in Buffalo… how many cups did they win after Hasek and Muckler jacked Nolan…"

How many did they win before Hasek and Muckler jacked Nolan?

Sunny Aruba....Don't I wish!!! As for tickets I may go for the 10-12 game plan now that I see the improvements that are being made.
I always get individual game tickets from a friend who's business never uses them.

Mr Steady, very good post. It's nice to see an acknowledgment
of a good move by Snow. I firmly beleive that he is growing into the job on a daily basis and that he should be allowed to continue his vision for the team. The team as it stands now is light years ahead of last years "stop gap" team.
Snow is in effect giving Nolan enough rope to hang himself. I do not think that Snow is powerful enough yet to just dismiss Ted. He is waiting to see how the season plays out. If Nolan does well playing the kids then Snow will look good. If Ted fails then Garth can pick his own coach and go forward with his own plan.

Either way Snow is holding all the cards. Again, my compliments on a thoughtful post..........Sir William

And yes, this is really Sir W.

HEALY I think you are 100% accurate about the majority of GM's having a gentlemans agreement not to raid the other teams
RFA's.
So far only Lowe who is somewhat of a maverick and Gillis in Vancouver have really tried it. The other offer sheet was a retaliation offer made by St. Louis.

I am not sure if it was Holmgren or Clarke who offered RFA's deals
to a couple of Nashville players a few year ago.

I don't think that Snow is radical enough to go after Dawes, but he would be great insurance in case Tambellini falls on his face here.

You can never have enough snipers or D men........Sir William

JP - Great post....The referance to "A Christmass Story" and "Fragile" was sheer genius !!

SW and Healy...I don't think Snow should ruffle anymore of the NHL "Frats" feathers.....Dawes is a good young player. Would love him on the squad....But remember he played on a team of Jagr, Shanny, Gomez, Avery, and mr. clutch......On the island the opposing defenses could put their top lines on him, where they couldn't on the Rangers.

That is why I do not think Comeau and KO get enough credit....They did their thing against teams concentrating on them....Once we add more fire power they will shine even brighter. I do not think 30 goals brighter (505) but brighter :) ;) !!

Sir dub ya ....

I wouldn't make a brass name plate for Garth Snow's parking space just yet .... he had a Great draft (IMO) ... but in a few years ... IF Bailey is a bust ... and the extra picks the Isles got don't pan out ... I think that will be the last straw for Wanger .... He'll have had this great facility renovation done ... and no good young talent to display their craft there .... there are a lot of "what ifs" between now and then ... and a new arena will attract some UFA's ... but I think more than anything Garth is going to be measured by this draft ... and how the other players he didn't take the chance to pick when he could does.

You didn't have to talk me down from the edge on draft day ... I was pissed .... but by the time I posted on here I had relaxed a bit and I was willing to see how day two would turn out .... I wasn't happy though ... and I recapped what I went through that evening in my post ... I do recall stating that you were the voice of reason though ... because after reading some real venomous posts I saw you as one of the few optimists that shed a glimmer of positive possibilities.

My post last night questioning why Witt was signed to an extension yet Wang was willing to have his GM and Coach go into lame duck status was semi-sarcastic ... Wang's already explained his reasoning ... I partially agree with it ... but I don't think Wang should keep Nolan around or Snow around if they screw things up royally just to fullfill his part of the contract.
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Steady .... I agree with your 8:47 post ... I LOVE IT that Witt got the extension ... but I think it sets a bad precident when he says he will not give Nolan an extension till the current contract runs out ... because a contract is a contract ... he just went against his own principles then by signing Witt ... it really is going to start the season with a dark tone over Nolan's head ... and no matter what happens ... I think that spills over to the players.

I could be wrong.
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Regarding Steady's need for season tickets and Sir William's change of heart regarding giving up his tix.

I suggest that Steady and Sir William split a full season package ... it will keep them away from one another at the NVMC since they'll be alternating games. ;)
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Regarding the RFA offer sheet stuff .... I'm actually surprised more GMs aren't doing it ... but after seeing the Lowe / Burke wars ... I think it turned lots of GMs off ... and confirmed their fears.

I also think a rival doing it to a team compounds it that much more .... after all ... I hate to admit it ... but the Rags' war chest is much bigger than the Isles' ... and revenge is a dish best served cold.
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JP ... great 19-esque post ... LOL ... I don't think Bailey is going to the AHL to be able to be called up ... he's most probably going back to juniors to captain the Windsor Spitfires as aluded to by Greg Logan ... I tend to agree with him there.

100% agree that Wang showed his cards on the extension thing. Even though Mike and the Mad Dog are in a lover quarrel and know nothing about hockey, I owuld love to see them call him on that.....Maddog is great at needling owners!!!

19 ISLES Wang or Snow have a history of extending players. Campoli, Martinek and of course DP. Players are one of 23 players. A coach is one of one. Huge difference.

It will be several years before we see the completion of the Lighthouse, so if Snow lasts that long he will have done very well for himself. Beside, look how long it took Wang to get rid of Milbury. My feeling is that if Wang likes you, he stands behind you until the bitter end. I don't get that feeling from Wang about Nolan.

I think Wang is looking at this year as the make or break year for
Teddy. Nolan seems to have this fatal character flaw that he hangs onto these washed up vets too long (Simon, Dunham).

You could tell from some TV interviews last year that Wang was not happy with the way the young players were used. I think he is giving Ted one more chance to prove he can use the kids properly.

If he is unhappy it will be Wang not Snow who pulls the trigger on him...........Sir William

There were maybe three decisions where Nolan (over the past two years) went with a vet instead of giving a younger player a chance.
The most glaring situation was an obviously washed up Duhnam being left hung out to dry when DP went down. Dunham is a damn Snow clone (not to be confused with a "snow cone", which he couldn't stop either.) I'd challenge anybody, including Greg, to prove to my better sensibility that stretching a washed up Dunham wasn't to appease Snow (Don Garth..remember the NEM)
Another problem was stretching Silly last year until he just coldn't take it anymore. I was one of those folks that wanted to see Walter to take a role he seemed tobe made for. I don't know too much about the inner circles of hockey (or hell for that matter), but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't go over well benching a guy like Silly (one of the true stand up guys in the sport (I assume), for a 2nd rate rook. At least Walter has pedigree.
the third was getting rid of Hilbert and replacing him with ANYBODY, but most likely giving his minutes to Tambellini.
Well.. Tambellini hasn't really shown us much on LI... in CT he's an all star, but he hasn't done much in an Islander uniform.
Comeau and Bergie got playing time. the only complaint by most fans is that either of those two might have improved the PP. Well... basically 19, 505, steady and even logan (I'm guessing by his pic he doesn't lace em up too much) woould have at least reduced their PP goals against.

I was somewhat optimistic going into last year. Much of that hinged on Nolan, and the fact that Comrie has had flashes of being a #1... I was mistaken, that kind of stuff has to be done over the long haul, and Mikey doesn't have it. I'm hoping that a 100% Comrie is much closer to a #1 center...
If you read my comparisons last year you might remember that I thought that team compared favorably with the team they put on the ice in October of 2006. This one does not match up well with either the 2007 or 2006 version.
For them to be competetive Nolan will have to show another side of his coaching chops, and that is TEACHING. He was successful as a coach in Juniors, so those might exist, but I think he may need better NHL level assistants.
That's were Guerin, Weight, Silly (?) and Witter come in.
I don't care what anybody says... this team needs continuity, and for that to happen Ted needs two more years. It answers a lot of questions... and just may be what this team needs to come out of the gate with a better attitude.

JP - The Dumham fiasco in '07 and the unchanging PP lineup game after PP-goalless game in '08 shouldn't be looked at lightly. Those 2 glaring mistakes reveal just the obvious weaknesses of this coach. I was one of the 1st to sing Nolan's praises both when he was hired and during the past 2 seasons, but these types of thing shouldn't be overlooked when evaluating a coach for an extension.

The next few years are absolutely crucial to the survival of this team. And the path Snow/Wang/Whoever has taken in favor of a more home-grown foundation only serves to leverage the bet that much more. Nolan has obviously been at odds with Snow regarding the experience level of the lineup on the ice. Regardless who is ultimately correct, the path has been chosen and it can't be denied that a question exists as to whether Nolan is the right coach for this particular team at this particular time. Bottom line... a 2 year extension for Nolan is far from the slam dunk decision you and others (Steady?) make it out to be.

Sure, a season with a lame duck coach is not optimum. But it's far better than losing the bet and tacking on 2-3 more season with might ultimately be the WRONG coach. I'm sure we'll have a lot more information after 40 or so games that will provide more than enough indication of what the decision on Nolan should be. I personally hope he buys into the team plan, uses his ample skill to enhance that plan and lead the Isles to success over the next 10 years. But considering what's come to light over the past few weeks, the jury is still out (as it well should be).

What do yah say Cincy...Long tim no read...Was in your neck of the woods last week visiting a client....Had some conies, chilli, and palyed 18 at a gorgous old course....HAcked it up with a 94 but it was a tough course! Camargo !!

f5