DO NOT ask Garth Snow. While Garth was initially demure about discussing Gordon's contract--he said the Isles organization's policy is to not divulge those details--Newsday's own Mark Herrmann pressed him further, which prompted a bit more of a bristly response from Garth.
"Mark, I've got a lot of respect for ya...but it's none of your damn business."
Seriously.
Mark was a good sport about it, but it made me wonder whether the organization is trying to avoid another potential Nolan situation in the future...remember, "So Ted, you are heading into the last year of your contract, and you still haven't been notified about the possibility of an extension..." Yeah. I'd be interested to hear what you all think in terms of how many years Gordon got. As Mark pointed out, multi-year can mean two, and it can also mean 15 (as we all know the organization has famously shelled out before).
All in all though, it was a nice day at the Coliseum...great turnout, although with media members, you never know if that has anything to do with the availability of free food:)
Here are just another couple tidbits about Gordon from the day that won't make it into tomorrow's story
-Just in general, he was a very nice guy who was gracious enough to stay more than two hours after the press conference (and I don't even think he ate lunch) to speak with reporters. Gotta appreciate that.
-He did seem to be pretty nervous, but NOT overwhelmed. Big difference. He said there's no real media coverage in Providence, so the contingent at the presser today was probably a bit different for him, but said he was more nervous about that than the actual coaching part...that he seems to be very confident about.
-He said he's a good communicator and someone that has ample experience dealing with kids, so yes, this does seem to be a logical fit. He basically said his whole job with Providence was dealing with a youth movement, so while it will inevitably be a bit different at the NHL level, he's dealt with it before.
-He seems pretty intent on incorporating speed into this team. He talked about his experience using "overspeed" and pushing players out of their comfort zone in practice to improve this area. He also said, after watching three taped games from Bridgeport last year, that the one thing that impressed him watching the kids, was that element of speed.
-I asked him if he had any time to review the team's struggling power play (of course that is awfully premature for him to have had strategic outlines already, I know). While he did not reveal specifics, his reaction to the question revealed he KNOWS it's a problem that desperately needs fixing, and fast.
--Katie
Comments (115)
Nice job Katie! I had mostly the same reactions, although I did use the word "overwhelmed," but only with the attention, not the task.
I just hope he has enough time to prepare for camp now and watch more of those tapes, as you mentioned, especially that power(less) play.
From the previous thread .. response to Sir W...
SW .... yes ... it does say Snow's Show ... and that is what it should be ... The GM shouldn't be sharing decisions with his coach ... but he should be open minded to a coaches decision and get some input from the coach ...
Other than your conspiracy theory ... you have no basis for the insinuation that Snow will impose his authority in a one-way.. "I'm your boss do as I say ... not as I do" relationship.
Snow is looking for a partner in building ... and yeah ... he wants someone to buy into his plan .... that is what a coach of THIS team needs to do.
When you have experienced coaches like the other candidates that have won a cup ... you also have to credit the talent given to them. The fact you defended Torts for having a "bad" team ... means that when he has a "good" team he's able to win .. and a bad team he has no chance? So basically ... coaching doesn't really have that much of a bearing based on that criteria? A coach that wins is a great coach? A coach that loses has bad players?
I think it's a little of everything ... and Torts and the others didn't convince Snow that they could handle the deck of cards the Islanders would deal them.
I think you are being unfair to catagorize the interview process as a sham / farce ... everyone I spoke with about this coaching decision applauds Snow for a great choice for a building team like the Isles ... Hartely was flawed, Maurice really didn't do much better than Nolan last year ... well .. actually .. he did a bit better ... Torts ... I've spoke of him at length before and you know how I feel about him ... and the others just didn't fit all the intangibles a coach needs for this team.
Gordon ... well ... I'll say this ... I've heard only great things about him .. but obviously nobody is perfect .. so I'm sure he's got some flaws ... but he's also stated that he's learned from losing at times ... coaching is coaching (that is dead on) ... he knows what works with players and what doesn't ... he said he had to accept some loses before he could win by taking some chances ... and that rings true to me ... I've seen that in lots of winners prior to winning it all ... so he's bold enough to not be afraid to lose to take leaps forward. Look ... the Isles lost before they won ... Edmonton ... Detroit .... the Devils ...
Sir W ... as always ... I respect your opinion .... you may even be correct in your assumption ... but the fact that we'll never know if you are right or not really makes it a mute arguement ... I just happen to give Snow a bit more credit than him pulling off a masqarade of that magnitude ... he could of done that in one week with maybe 3 candidates if that was the case.
7th woman .... I wouldn't worry about Gordo being ready intime for camp ... he's got plenty of time ... he's got assistant coaches that can help him become acclimated with the staff... fast tracking him to familiarity.... and some coaches like National Team coaches only have players for a week or less of practices before having to coach in International Tournaments ... Aside from that ... AHL coaches are used to having to get used to new players and juggling lineups with callups and trades that impact AHL teams ... aside from that ... Gordo has seen the kids from Bridgeport lots of times from the opposite bench ...
Training camp will help him sift out the rest ... and get to know the shoe-in vets ... I'm sure Bill G., Mike S., Brendan W. and Dougie W. and the others will help make his transition easier.
"Yeah. I'd be interested to hear what you all think in terms of how many years Gordon got"
3-5 with an extended sentence for good behavior.
SW,
You said yourself that the farce was played out to make Snow look like a real GM. That lead me to assume you thought he was not a real GM. Snow in fact said, "this is the guy I see as the best fit for the team. I'm the GM, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it." Do I think GOrdon's the best man for the role? I honestly don't know, but I don't want to see anymore GM/coach pissing matches.
All I can say is, that the good Lord we don't have any Gordon's fish sticks jersey's around... okay, so it's gortons, but the similarity will rear it's ugly head this season, mark my words!
19 ISLES "Other than your conspiracy theory ... you have no basis for the insinuation that Snow will impose his authority in a one-way.. "I'm your boss do as I say ... not as I do" relationship.
Isles, a conspiricay by definition is between two or more persons. So to call any of this a conspiracy is incorrect (unless you beleive that Snow is a split personality).
It was interesting to me that Logan saw it the same way I did. Snow consolidating his power base. And that was my entire point.
BRIAN .....I consider Snow to be a GM in training. He has done some really good things and some not so good. I think his draft was incredible and I loved his signing of Weight and Streit.
I don't like this.
But you are not always going to agree with what a certain GM or coach does. Hiring Torts in my opinion would have been a home run. This hiring is a single and a bunt at that. I would have liked to see Snow go for the gold but he did not and took the safe way out.
I beleive in low risk....low reward.
On another note, I could care less what the so called hockey pundits say. I have seen them be wrong so many times that they are laughable. Many of the guys who post here know just as much about hockey as the so called experts and sometime more.
......Sir William
Here's a question no one has asked. Since 2003 the Bruins have had 5 different head coaches. If Gordon is so good how come he wasn't one of them?
5 years in the AHL and the Bruins never even gave him a chance.
Why not?
Just curious..........Sir William
Okay,
Who's the wise guy that did the Newsday video on the right side of this blog about the Scott Gordon press conference?
In Gordon's speech he talked about the veterans coming back and first spoke about Bill Guerin. And the video flashed an action shot of Billy on the screen.
And then Gordon mentioned Rick Dipietro returning.
And the video flashed an action picture of Wade Dubie on the screen.
HA HA HA.
Very funny buttwipe.
Does anyone else see a resemblance between Gordon and Comrie?
Will Duff?
The Islanders are the only team I know that would have 9 thirty something's in the lineup during a youth movement, LOL. Even the younger players like Tambellini, Walter, Nielsen are going to be 25 this season, LOL!
Do you people really think the Fisherman line is NEW? And it is actually "GorTon's". All I can say is, if he's good enough for Bobby Nystrom... he's good enough for me! We need a fresh start, and we're going to get it!
7th woman: We need a fresh start, and we're going to get it!
Yes, the Isles have their bi-anual fresh start. Another fresh start will be in a year or 2.
S.W .... Is it safe to say you are now in "sort of" agreement with me on the bobbleheads and see what I mean by putting people in positions so they can control them ???
I know you do not like the "bobbles" tag name, but you know what I mean.
Only reason I ask the above question, is b/c you trashing Snow as much as I did a month ago. Which is odd since you stuck up for him in all our verbal wars!?!
Last point:
I was just reading the Post on line and got physically sick to my stomach. At the end of the Isles~Gordon article it said this:
"It is believed that the selection of Gordon to succeed Ted Nolan, announced Tuesday night, was made after he, Bob Hartley and Paul Maurice had final interviews with owner Charles Wang. "
Does this not make any of you nervous? Why was the final interview with Wang ????????? I thought Snow was runnin gthe show? I thought Snow was now given the keys to the castle? What happened to him having full autonomy ????
I have said from day one the Wanger MUST get out of the way. He is a control freak that puts people in positions they are not accustomed too so he can CONTROL THEM !!!
As for Gordon...SW said it best....Why have the Bruins NEVER given Gordon a shot ??????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm ???
You sound completely mental. Seriously.
Sir William said ~ "Isles, a conspiricay by definition is between two or more persons. So to call any of this a conspiracy is incorrect (unless you beleive that Snow is a split personality)."
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh .... Now I see what you mean Sir W ... you believe that Snow was in on this farce ALONE ... I apologize ... I thought you were insinuating that Snow representing the organization as its ring leader was the head of such a conspiracy by the trinity of Snow, Wang and Dey ... my humble apologies.
See ... that is what I get for ASSUMING something that I know nothing about ... I shouldn't of tried reading into what you were saying by injecting my own theories into the mix based on what I believed.
I guess you are right. Snow probably concocted this whole farce of vetting a coach for a month and wanted to pick the worst possible candidate and not go for the home run because he wants to fail and get fired. That is probably it. Oooops ... there I go again ... I'm trying to justify why I think Snow would make such a poor choice.... when infact he probably doesn't know what he's doing so he's taking the easy way out.
Thanks for showing me the light SW. Makes sense to me now. Bad .. Bad Bad Snow ... why don't you just quit and save us all the trouble of waiting for you to get fired... you didn't have to hire an inexperienced unqualified Gordon to do that. I guess I might as well just watch my Dinner and a Dynasty DVD for the next 12 months till the Isles fire Snow and Gordon and hire a new GM and Coach.
Steady ... I agree with you 10000% about Wanger ... I don't think he should have anything to do with Hockey Ops ... one can only hope that he's gained experience from his previous failures when getting his nose into Hockey Ops.
I think all he should have a say in is how much money Snow needs... and give him a budget and hold Snow accountable for running hockey ops... that is it.
That being said ... neither Hartley nor Maurice were on the top of my list among the 3 remaining candidates after I dug in and did my own research. So I think that Wang stepped in it and got lucky when he picked the best of the 3 left after the initial vetting process.
Bobble heads will always be a funny saying ... I can see the visual of that.
SW...in my last few posts i have asked why we would want a VETERAN coach who has the taste of lord stanley in his mouth already to coach our "REBUILDING" TEAM?? If you honestly believe that having Torts as our head coach during this movement, waiting 3-5 yrs to be another CUP contender, your off your rocker...This team doesnt need a veteran coach, who will have no patients for errors from the young kids....Soon enough, Guerin, Weight, Witt, Silly, they are most likely all gonna be gone, and we will very young, witht the hopes that by the time they are gone, guys like OKPOSO, TAMBY, BAILEY, FIRGEN, etc. etc. will be leading this TEAM!!! Torts, Maurice, Hartley, Crawford would not truly be 110% with the youth movement, and with that in mind could corrupt the whole plan, and then what????? ANOTHER 15 yrs of trying to rebuild?? SW, i always respect your opinions and take them w/ consideration, and i understand u have been a fan from the very beginning and you want to WIN NOW!!! and i think thats why you want Torts so bad, but its just not a LOGICAL fit for this team now....If we were a 2 steps away from being a true cup contender, i would want TORTS as our head coach, but we are far from that...We need someone like GORDON who is willing to work with the kids and grow with them.....Have some faith SW, TONYSAC has a very good feeling about the future of this team...and STEADY, again i am not taking your ORACLENESS AWAY!!
Sir William ... I have 10 theories to share with you about your very valid "How come the B's passed on Gordon?" Question ... I asked myself the same exact question 2 weeks ago when the coach I was assisting during that youth hockey clinic suggested to me that Gordon would make an excellent NHL coach ... Gordon wasn't even on my radar back then ... however ... I'll have to put your question in the proper historical context when I answer my theories to your question .... but ... I am going to be busy for the next 4 to 5 hours ... so it will have to wait ... you know me ... this is going to be a long one ... lol.... but then again ... you usually only post in late afternoons and evenings ... so you will not wait long.
19Isles
"I am going to be busy for the next 4 to 5 hours"
Giving your boss his daily recap on the previous day's water cooler conversations?
Gordon help to young players Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen, Sean Bergenheim, Blake Comeau, Josh Bailey, Robin Figren, Jesse Joensuu, Maxim Gratchev, and Kyle Okposo on practice camp on September. Islanders young players can play ready NHL without Bill Guerin and Doug Weight. Islanders young players play control fast ice game similar Edmonton Oilers. Still Rick Dipietro start play 65 to 75 games similar NJ Devils Martin Brodeur.
Islanders coach and young players play positive and seriously.
Islanders try claim or trade McCabe from Maple Leaf become McCabe play for power play. Not good Bruno Gervais control offensive and defensive.
ExpectationManagement101:
This team is NOT in the midst of a "youth movement". Please, take the glasses off and take a bite of reality. This is basically Spin Control for MORE than two seasons of incompetence.
This year:
This is NOT a young team. The offensive and defensive core of the team are over thirty. They have two prospects under 25, but they only project to second line forwards. They are 37, 28, 37 and 32 up the middle. their first line of defense is 33 and 32 (that's right, Marty is no kid anymore). Sutton is 33 and streit is 30... so you really have to go to the third pairing to get under 25.
Not exactly brimming with youthful exuberance.
Next year: (could be as early as the trade deadline)
Guerin, Sillinger and Weight are gone. Replaced by Nielsen, Walter and Figren(?). Bailey, who projects to a second line center is probably two years away. They might be able to pull Petrov out of Russia, but who knows.
I'm okay with the team, and I'll most likely always be an Islander fan... but I wish they'd cut the BS.
Wang is tired of pouring money into the franchise, and if his real estate deal goes south he's going to have to put up a FOR SALE sign. The only reason he signed Weight was most likely to get to the minimum payroll requirements.
Snow can't deal with VETERANS and their agents because he doesn't have a CLUE. I bet he'd have made a much better GM had he sat with a REAL ONE for a few years.
He has not negotiated a real contract yet. what happens if Okposo becomes a 40 goal guy... or tambellini is that "sniper"... and they start looking for 7-10M per... he'll wet himself.
I think this team has as good a shot to make the playoffs as the team did last year. The only real difference is they had a coach who got them to the playoffs in 2006, now they have a guy, as capable as he may be, who doesn't even know his way from NHL airports to their respective rinks. Thank god for GPS systems.
But PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop insulting our intelligence by calling it a YOUTH MOVEMENT. It's more like a bowel movement!
I hate to be so negative, because in reality I can't wait for the season to get started. I just can't believe how some people can defend this incompetent organization over and over and over.
It's been two years and there has been nothing done by Snow that I couldn't easily believe to have been done by Milbury. Wang still hasn't finished reading Hockey for Dummies, and we have a team being led around by good, but OVER RATED goaltender with a 15 year contract.
Come on people...WTFU!!!!
I think Gordon is a very good choice for the Isles to rebuild with. Look for him to spread out his verterans across the line combinations. After the line combinations settle down, each veteran will be assigned the young players they are responsible for. You should see a lot of on-ice communication and directives beeing given by the veteran players.
Lots of mistakes early in the season, but look for the team to gel by Feb.
Kevin T.
Posted by JPinVA |
This team is NOT in the midst of a "youth movement". Please, take the glasses off and take a bite of reality. This is basically Spin Control for MORE than two seasons of incompetence...
Every time I feel a hint of a shred of a touch of a modicum of a drop of optimism about this team, I read something like this and am immediately brought right back to where I really am.
While they have in the fold a couple of young guys and a couple of even younger recent picks who MAY grow to be solid players, and a seemingly sharp and dynamic new coach who MAY adapt to the big league, all that really matters is the decision on the Lighthouse (as Mark Herrmann intimates in his piece today). All this stuff going on is really 'just in case' the deal does get passed, somehow. Like JP, I also can't wait for the season to start, even training camp, but it's all tempered by 'the issue' that looms over everything, and that really controls the team right now.
JPinVA, awesome RANT! made me laugh! It easy to get frustrated with the team because so many good players have slipped through their fingers. I think if Snow can get them all on the same page to build and keep their own young players, they are finally making steps in the right direction.
However, that doesn't have much to do with who they have playing this year. They still have to buy time with verterans while they rebuild their prospects.
Kevin T.
forgot to put name in there. sorry.
Posted by Anonymous | August 14, 2008 13:33 Posted by JPinVA |
This team is NOT in the midst of a "youth movement". Please, take the glasses off and take a bite of reality. This is basically Spin Control for MORE than two seasons of incompetence...
Every time I feel a hint of a shred of a touch of a modicum of a drop of optimism about this team, I read something like this and am immediately brought right back to where I really am.
While they have in the fold a couple of young guys and a couple of even younger recent picks who MAY grow to be solid players, and a seemingly sharp and dynamic new coach who MAY adapt to the big league, all that really matters is the decision on the Lighthouse (as Mark Herrmann intimates in his piece today). All this stuff going on is really 'just in case' the deal does get passed, somehow. Like JP, I also can't wait for the season to start, even training camp, but it's all tempered by 'the issue' that looms over everything, and that really controls the team right now.
Just because every player on the team isn't young doesn't mean the Isles aren't in a youth movement.
If (when) the Isles get good under Snow...Weight, Guerin and Sillinger won't be on the team. They're just place holders right now..there to help put an NHL-caliber team on the ice and to mentor the younger guys.
Most of the other 30+ guys are just barely over 30..Hunter, Streit, Sim etc. Those guys, in theory, would still be productive by the time the team is ready to compete.
Sutton and Witt, both in their mid-30s, don't fit either of those categories..but does anyone really think the Isles would be better off without them right now?
Snow just did a lot in the draft to restock the organization. In a few season some of those guys (God willing) will be up here and the team will need less place holders.
There is a team made up of Islander prospects that are mostly in their early 20s though. It's called the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
19ISLES...I am glad you finally see the light. Some people take a bit longer than others to come around, but eventually they get it.
This was an out and out power grab by Snow. Now he's got it and let's see what he does with it. In effect, Snow has replaced Milbury in Wangs eyes and has consolidated all the hockey power into the GM's position. Good or bad remains to be seen.
Even if Gordon falls flat on his face , Snow will survive. Just like MM did for all those years and all those coaches. If you can't see this, then nothing that I say will help you.
4 or 5 hours and 10 theories. How about you just give us the Cliff notes. I want to see Phelps swim again.
STEADY, I do not think that Snow is all bad. I think that he was in an insecure position previously and now has take the reins firmly in hand. He sewed that up by hiring Gordon instead of a coach who may disagree with him. He went down that road with Nolan and came out on top. He took the safe move to secure his own position. Whether that's ultimately good for the team only time will tell. Personally, I feel he took the cowards way out.
TONYSAC....And what happens if some of the kids don't work out. There is the possibility that some of them are just not good enough to play in the NHL. Then what?
That's where a real veteran coach comes in. Someone who can steer the ship through adversity. Gordon has proven zero. At least some of the others had track records dealing with it.
As for you to ask me to have faith, that's a laugh. I had the faith before you were born. I probably have spent more money on popcorn than you have on tickets. I still will root for the team, but when I see something that looks horribly familiar, I say so. Being a fan does not involve drinking the kool aid everytime the PR people offer it to you................Sir William
1010
"There is a team made up of Islander prospects that are mostly in their early 20s though. It's called the Bridgeport Sound Tigers."
Hey, hey, hey.....let's not forget the newly signed Odessa Jackalopes out here in the hinterlands of hockey!!!
You folks will all be blessed by firsthand and eyewitness accounts of this uterus of burgeoning talent in the Isles organization this year.
505 has happily accepted the position of Watchdog (no offense Neil Best) over this team from 2 time zones away and will post frequent updates on any potential rosebuds in these tumbleweeds.
From two time zones away.
Now when does Wang get that league in China going and how do we get a Watchdog to comment here who doesn't write in Mandarin? (or 19Isleslike).
Didn't Gordon used to be a backup goalie?
Forget the YOUTH PLAN. What is really happening is Wang and Snow are really Bialystock and Bloom
Wang has gotten investors to buy 3000% of the team and the only way they can succeed is if the Islanders go bankrupt.
Don't be surprised if the Coliseum has intermission readings from the Koran, and a the new uniforms have Bin Laden's picture on the crest.
The national anthem is going to be replaced by "It's springtime for Garth Snow":
The Isles were having trouble
What a sad, sad story
Needed a new leader to restore
Their former glory
Where, oh, where was he?
Where could that man be?
We looked around and then we found
The man for you and me
And now it's...
Springtime for Garth Snow and Mini Me
Mad Mike has left him the keys
We're skating to a faster stride
Look out, here comes that Isle Pride!
It's springtime for Garth Snow and Mini me
The Island's a fine land once more!
springtime for Garth Snow and Mini me
Watch out, NHL
We're going on tour!
springtime for Garth Snow and Mini me
Just like when we had ol' scott Lachance
springtime for Garth Snow and Mini me
Come on, fans, do the chicken dance!
I was born in south Stockholm, now I call South Merrick home
Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and skate with witt and marty!
17:28, 17:44 and 18:02 are not me.
Hurry Sundown.
jp- LOL and ohhhhhhhhhhhh so true !!!
SW ... Just so you know ... I was being brutally sarcastic earlier.
Here is a quick look at my main theory as to why the Bruins didn't promote Gordon .. shorter than Cliffnotes ... promise.
I myself didn't even have Gordon on my radar .. but when a former AHL coach tells me Gordon would make an excellent coach and cited some of his accomplishments ... I had to look into it more ... so I did. After seeing lots of accomplishments and accolades about his coaching system and philosophy I asked myself .. Why did the Bruins not promote him the last couple of years if he was that good?
Sir W... You said since 2003 there were 5 coaches for the Bruins... so if Gordon was so good .. why didn't they tab him to coach the B's.. As I just mentioned ... I asked myself the same question. However ... you should put your question in the context of the real facts.
The first 3 coaches of those 5 coaches were tabbed the coach of the B's before Gordon ever coached his first AHL hockey game.... yes .. there were 3 coaches in 2003 ... but they all were tabbed the coach b4 Gordon was a head coach in the AHL. The last one being Mike Sullivan .. the head coach of the Baby B's at the time.
The other 2 appointments... well ... there was thank you for Butch Goring Dave Lewis with 2 back to back 100+ seasons (110pts & 109pts) just prior to being tabbed coach of the B's while Gordo had only 3 years head coaching experience in the AHL.
Then their was good ole Claude Julien ... you all remember him? .... he was dismissed as the Devs coach in the final week of the regular season in 07 by Lou Lamorillo who took over as coach and bombed as the Devs got eliminated in the 2nd round... prior to that Julien had the Devs in 1st place and 2nd seed in the conference...
With those 2 coaches available with recent successes ... are you going to tab you minor league coach who was having great success developing your prospects?
So SW your claim that the Bruins passed up on Gordon 5 times is totally inaccurate.
The meat of my theory then as to why the B's left Gordon down with the Baby B's was because basically ... why ruin a good thing? .... Gordon was doing a stellar job down in Providence developing prospects... and they already had proven coaches like Lewis (did horrible btw) and Julien (did fantastic btw) available to them.
Well, it's 11:00, and I just got back from church. I had to light a candle for 19's former english professors who are probably all insane or in a soup kitchen...or possibly both.
Anyway... how bout those Mets!!!
For those who think hiring a minor league coach is stupid dumb, power grab blah blah blah ... take note of this fact.
Peter Laviolette ... career minor league player ... minor league coach ... 1 year NHL assistant coach ... 1st year as Head NHL coach took team to a 96 point season....Won Stanley Cup in 4th year as an NHL coach. (we all know his story)
Mike Babcock .... career college player (McGill University) ... and English league player ... then moved on to coach college hockey in Canada at Red Deer ... then moved to the Junior ranks for the bulk of his coaching career in the WHL .. with a stop in the middle back at the Canadian college ranks for one season ... after coaching Spokane's WHL team for 6 season MB moved to pro-hockey (his first affiliation with a pro team ever in North America) with the Cincinatti Mighty Ducks for only 2 measly seasons ... where he only saw modest success ... after that??? He took the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to the Stanley Cup Finals!!!!! ... in only his rookie year coaching ... with 95 points in the regular season.
Then after 4 more seasons of coaching .... MB got to drink from Lorde Stanley's Silver Chalice ...
Babcock's career line? 95 points, 76 points, 124 points, 113 points and 115 points.
So please ... someone ... please explain to me without all the negative Drama ... why in the hell is it such a tragedy that Snow hires a successful minor league coach? Is it that you enjoy the role of victim? Do you like to feel that Snow is screwing you over? Was Torts that great of a coach? Seriously now ... do your homework before answering.
Steady has used this term " Making Lobster Salad Out of Cat Food" on several occassions... and he's right ... only some coaches can do that ... Nolan was one of them.... however ... everything I've heard post mortem about Nolan is that he's one dimensional, inflexible, his coaching is out dated, non-communicative, he's defiant, loses the team and is not the greatest at teaching. Whether or not that is true is all mute now ... but those were all things I had no idea of.
Snow is the GM ... HE SHOULD HAVE THE POWER ... the coach should coach ... and the GM should have his ear.
If Torts was only gonna be defiant and go against Snow .. then what the hell is the point of having him coach???!!!
Look ... I'm very critical of Snow most of the time ... but I'm not going to slam him just for the sake of slamming him. It gets old.
SW ... you were the first person on here to talk people down when they were going nuts on here about the Isles trading down to draft Bailey who perhaps is the best fit for this team of the 5th-10th draftees ... and those first thoughts of yours I feel were justifiable ... why can't you see that in a way Snow kinda did the same thing with his coaching choice? Snow kind of drafted down by hiring the less notable coach ... by-passing the concensous choices of what most people thought would be a good choice... for the right choice.
I admit ... time will tell ... and I'm not asking for the Isles to make the playoffs this season .. if that happens .. that will be gravy ... what I want is for the Isles to be competitive, entertaining and above all ... to develop.
---------------------------------------
Tomorrow I'm going to address how I feel about this "Youth Movement" debate.
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BTW JP ... your earlier rant in song was hilarious ... I vote for you as a Blog Boxer this season.
JP said... Well, it's 11:00, and I just got back from church. I had to light a candle for 19's former english professors who are probably all insane or in a soup kitchen...or possibly both.
WTF does that supposed to mean JP? Your posts probably rival mine. But to answer your question ... too late to light a candle for them .. they are neither insane or a soup kitchen ... they are all skeletal remains in their offices reading my compositions.
19 ISLES "SW ... Just so you know ... I was being brutally sarcastic earlier.'
If you have to explain it.........Keep trying . I'm sure you'll get the hang of it someday.
As to your other points.
Mike Babcock. In case you have not noticed the Isles have about
6 players that could even make the Red Wings. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the even Gordon could make the playoffs with the Wings. That's a silly analogy.
For every Babacock there are 10 coaches who were in the same catagory and never made it past a second season. Lavy, Rick Bowness, Steve Stirling, Brad Shaw and even Ted Nolan. Terry Simpson lasted a bit more I think, but was another loser. The ranks of discarded NHL coaches are full of this type.
Actually, Gordon coached Providence for the last 9 games of the 2002 season after Sullivan was called to Boston. They finished in first place (thanks to Sullivan) but were knocked out of the playoffs in a first round upset. Thanks to Gordon? Who knows?
But his team underachieved and who should get the blame?
By the way, how many OTHER NHL teams hired new coaches this year. I think we are up to 8. How come none of them hired Gordon BEFORE us, since he was AHL Coach of the Year?
19 ISLES ..This really isn't about Gordon. It's about Snow. I praised Snow when I knew he was doing the right thing on draft day, when the rest of you didn't.
Now I have a different opinion on why he hired Gordon and I don't like it. I clearly see that he hired an underling rather than a partner.
A gm-coach relationship should be around a 70-30 split. Not a 95-5, which is what we have here. The poor guy couldn't even hire his own assistants for gosh sakes.
C'mon 19 ISLSEs give us 27 paragraphs on why it was better for
Snow to stick Gordon with last years losers.Tell us how it's better for the coaches morale to get last years leftovers stuffed down his gullet. Give me 550 words how Gallant earned his right to stay.
Maybe another 1000 words on how it eases the burden of command by not having to pick your own assistants. How the pressure to break in new assistants is a weight (no pun intended) off Gordons chest.
And then throw in some filler.
I'll give you the Cliffe notes. Power consolidation by an insecure GM who held mock interviews to make the rest of the NHL think that he was a serious hockey mind. He picked the runt of the litter
so that he doesn't have to worry about getting bit by a bigger dog.
Now, Gordon may turn out to be a fine coach. And he just may be able to turn this bunch into a team. I am more than willing to give him time to do it and I will root for it to happen. Sometime the right things come from bad moves.
Right now Snow is full of crap. He hired another Boston guy to babysit DP. He hired Gordon like he was the last guy picked in a schoolyard stickball game.
I'm pissed because I expected better of Snow
Up till this hiring, I really though he had made some serious progress. Then he comes along and pulls this stunt. I bet he's in his office right now looking in his mirrior saying "You talkin to me?" "You talkin' to ME"
UGH..............Sir William
19Isles......
keep it up...
Sir William...
c'mon.....give it a rest.
we're An Army at Dawn.
I have heard nothing from anyone but great things about Scott Gordon. ANYONE. I hope he has thick enough skin to be able to live with this rabid (and sometimes rude) fan base. If he does, we may end up being pleasantly surprised. And I think having yet another minor league affliate is very interesting. To me it means that there is still an interest in hockey as well as just the lighthouse project. But that's just me.
19 When are you going to learn buddy. I told ya last night at practice to not even address Sir William. Firstly he's as stubborn as you can be. I find it ironic that he also had to cite that Gordon took over from Sullivan at the end of the 2002 season. We both know it was in 2003. I told you before that his ignorance combined with his stubborness makes him an ill-suited debate opponent. So give it and yourself a rest buddy. We already know that the Isles considering their roster status will not see huge dividends for a season or two no matter who coaches. Baby steps.
Also, you went against my advice and our own coach's advice when you cited "The Coach's" comments about the Isles' coaching situation, and that he said Gordon would be an excellent fit for them. I said if coach 'X" doesn't want you to reference him in connection with Gordon then don't even mention him at all, even anonymously. Now that he's working in the NHL he doesn't feel comfortable to have any weblogs or articles written where he said certain things about someone. Coach has ambitions too, and as a rookie in the NHL he's kind of insecure about his position with his club. Remember, he only had a sniff of the AHL as a player way back when so he's not an established name in the NHL. Respect his wishes and let the Gordon thing go. No matter what you say you are not going to convince a stubborn mule, who stomps and has a tantrum because he didn't get the coach that "he" wanted. As I told you. It's not your choice or his choice, it's Snow's choice. It is his team to staff, and his responsibility to get the right guy for the job because it makes him look good if his choice does well, and makes him look bad if his choice does bad. There is no way that Snow created mock interviews so that he could have himself a "yes-man". Sounds like sour grapes to me.
Going into work late 19. As you warned when you left the pub, gotta beat the rain. We stayed just a little to long and had to wait out the storm for about 20 minutes. Got drenched anyway.
Oh, when's tryouts to fill out our roster? Have you guys been keeping talk about filling out the roster a secret? I want to be there when you guys review the players and pick them. We still only have 14 skaters, and one of them is also our backup goalie. I think we need 3 forwards and 1 defenceman?
19,
You are correct, My posts may be the only ones on this board that rival yours in length...
"The other 2 appointments... well ... there was thank you for Butch Goring Dave Lewis with 2 back to back 100+ seasons (110pts & 109pts) just prior to being tabbed coach of the B's while Gordo had only 3 years head coaching experience in the AHL."
I'm pretty sure I could have done a semester worth of advanced calc homework before I figured out what this sentence-paragraph means. I just gave up and rode over to St. Darius (patron saint of hitting big hockey men) to fire up a waxy c-mail to the lord.
...and I think you used the word TAB more often than a Coca-cola exec in the 70's.
The bottom line is that I just can't believe that there is so much rational debate over what is going to happen with this completely irrational organization.
I'd suggest that Wang makes his decisions by spinning a wheel in his office, but that would suggest that there was some pre-thought in constructing the wheel.
So far this summer:
Draft: Time will tell if Filitov will pan out, but right now I really like what Snow and Jankowski did. The more balls in the bowl the better chance you have of winning the pool.
UFA: overpaid for streit, but that is a trend that we can't really blame snang (If Snow and Nolan were Snolan). But he did give away Grebeshkov who would be making about 1.2M to grow with the rest of the "youth" this year. But why Weight... when you're preaching youth you took real ice time away from a position that definitely needed to be "youthenized".
Firing Nolan: IMHO the wrong guy got the ax. Snow wasn't given a choice for coach, but Nolan wasn't given his choice of personnel. Up to that point Nolan way outperformed Snow in respect ot their responsibilities. But it worked out better for both. Snow got a lackey, and Nolan got a chance to work for a stable organization eventually.
Hiring Gordon: I'm cool with the hiring. I'd have preferred Quenneville, but after his hat came out of the ring the other names all have pros and cons. But, as Botta has posted, it is basically correcting the error they made by firing Lavy. The only difference is that he was an ISLANDER and a GOALIE... something he shares with the two guys that run the team.
BTW: If I could become a "blog boxer" I'd have to change my name to JPinNY...
Anyone else get the feeling that 19 Isles and Kevin M are the same poster????
Kevin M only shows up when 19 is having an argument and then they play good cop/bad cop. Everything that 19 writes about "Julien" and this AHL coach are hush hush, but he writes it anyway. And neither of these sources EVER says anything negative about the Isles. From what 19 says "Julien" says, the Isles should win the cup in a couple of years. All very odd.
And, Kevin M constantly tells us how good a hockey player 19 Isles is. Why????
SW...Its going to take at least 3-5 yrs to see if these kids work out or not, and during that time frame, I think its best to have a coach who is willing to work with them, willing to stay patient with them..I can see TORTS being head coach, and after 25 games, if OKPOSO isnt playing up to par, he benches him, and completely kills the kids CONFIDENCE...I understand where u are coming from, being a LONG time ISLANDERS fan, and how YOU have seen it all from the very beggining..and u probably have spent more on popcorn then i have on tickets, because well first i get all my tickets for free usually from work...but thats besides the point...Its just my opinion that if we were a few steps closer to being a CONTENDER, i would want to see a VETERAN coach behind the bench rather then GORDON, but once again, ITS MY OPINION that this is the best move for the ISLANDERS at this moment in time....
PS....i DONT appreciate the the belittling comments...I know u could probably be my grandfather, and as i stated before, I RESPECT your opinions and take each of them into CONSIDERATION, but dont try and PATRONIZE me with your KOOLAID AND POPCORN comments.....Everyone on this boards has the OWN opinion, i dont agree with what alot of people have to say on this board, including YOU....but I respect your OPINIONS, and everybodys elses....GOODNIGHT AND GOODLUCK!!!
Alex,
Who cares? For all I know I am a 300 lb housewife from frankfort, KY who has nothing to do while they are fixing the flat tire on my living room.
Are you implying that Kevin is a "posi-troll", and 19 is actually a Kevin imPOSTer?
Okay, just got off the phone with Oliver Stone. He says your theory is sound but would only do about $50M domestically and even less overseas.
To prove how stuborn SW is, he still has not apologized to Steady. After all their wars between Snow and Nolan, steady obviously won. hands down. heck, SW is now trashing Snow more than steady. The Oracle Lives.
In my opinion all this talk of sinister and questionable motives in the hiring of Gordon is silly at best. Time will tell whether or not it was a good decision or not but to attribute it to Snow caring more about control than success appears to me as just another thing to complain and whine about. Ultimately the team's success is what Snow will be judged by. He knows this and do you think he cares more about the appearance of control than actually winning? Now Gordon may or may not be successful but we need to let this play out. Every successful NHL head coach had to get his first job in the bigs somewhere. Context and fit are important in any hiring (in and out of the sports world). I always tell my staff that their job is to make me look good. Think back when Al Arbour was hired by the Islanders (the first time), he came with a mediorcre coaching resume from St. Louis and only won something like 19 games his first year with the Isles. When he came out of retirement for his second stint with the Isles he did not have much success with the team. Could Arbour not coach before he came to NY? Did he forget how to win coming out of retirement? Timing, fit and context. Give this hire a chance. I don't know if it'll work out or not but successful NHL coaches get successful by being hired and getting a shot. Time will tell but all these bizarre pontifications by people able to mind read the GM's intentions comes off like so many sour grapes.
Not to belittle the concerns folks have, especially when they get related to what may or may not be happening re: the Lighthouse and its effect on the viability of the Isles long-term, but...
Amen Spinner! Everyone needs to quit whining and speculating and just let it all unfold.
12:16 was me
For that matter, I am shocked no one has made a bigger deal out of the fact the Isles will not tell anyone how long Gordon is signed for...
Gotta admit this new "approach" to avoid what happened with Ted Nolan yet again bucks the trend of the NHL, and no one has beaten up the bobbles for it?????? Way more interesting to me is whether or not the Isles really think this approach could conceivalby fly (do Gordon's players know how long he is under contract??), than whether or not the hiring was so Snow can consolidate his power or not.
Hmmm.... Instead of X-files, we can put together an Ex-Isles movie.
Is there a conspiracy behind Luongo, Bertuzzi, Chara..et al going to all-star games and bouncing around the league...
Unfortunately it takes smart people to device a good conspiracy. This was a Conspiracy of Dunces, not to be confused with the awesome John Kennedy Toole novel, Confederacy of Dunces!
...and no... I'm not a 300 lb housewife from KY. Actually the concept of housewives and KY would be a totally different genre... but I digress.
Back to hockey stuff.
Does anybody want to hazzard a guess as to who will be the next EX-ISLE.... please include reasoning.
Obvious candidates:
Mike "Hip Hip Oy Vay" Sillinger
First base Andy Hilbert
Frans "worth more on the 2009 draft board" Nielsen
Freddy "Nightmare on Charles Lindburg Blvd" Meyer
Didn't Gordon used to be a backup goalie?
16:43 is not me..
JP
Freddy Meyer?
I hope you were including him based on the play on his name.
You're talking about the Great Ottawa Destroyer there.
I'd hate to see him go.
TONYSAC...You are correct. I apologize. Your opinion is just as good as anyone elses here.
KEVIN M UUUHHH Wrong. Gordon was hired with 9 games left in the Bruins season during the 2002-2003 season. He lead them to a first round defeat in the playoffs after they won the division.
Look it up.
Go back to carrying 19 ISLES hockey bag.
No one has has an answer why 8 other NHL team passed on Gordon this year alone. You would think that the AHL Coach of the Year would be in more demand.
No response on why Gordon couldn't pick his own coaches?
A deep, dark Snow secret about the length of the contract?
Can anyone explain that one?............Sir William
Alex ... after reading your comment ... I tried to look back to where Kevin said I was such a good hockey player.... went back a whole bunch of threads too ... waste of time ... because I don't even think Kevin has posted in over a month ... now Alex ... if you've been on this blog the last month ... you've known I've battled with a few people since the draft ... most notably ... Sir William ... so where does Kevin show up everytime I have an arguement? ... that would be every other day.
Also ... where has Kevin ever said I was such a great hockey player? The last time I played in a game was early April in a tournament I was in and Kevin played on my team? I know he complimented me on a play in this space once ... but that is it.
So Alex ... you seem very insecure to me ... I think you took offense to a comment I made semi-defending Steady in a previous blog when you were trying to goat Steady into a confrontation with Coral.
Maybe you indirectly felt I was targeting you when I said some people no nothing about hockey when they say certain things that don't make sense about the composition of a hockey team and the coach's ability to mix in the right ingredients.
Alex ... you also seem to be defending Sir William ... so am I to assume that you are Sir William?
Tell ya what. Kevin asked me to play in a