Is the Islanders coaching job an NHL death sentence?

Question

So..... If their new coach can have a .500 Record is it considered a success and he deserves a better team to coach?

Answer 1

Gordon will probably be gone after his contract, if not sooner. Either he will fail miserably, or by getting the team to a .500 record, move on to a better team.  I would definitely say ownership and GM has been the biggest issues.   There was the Spano fraud in the mid 90's. Then when Pickett sold the team in '97 to a group, they made a massive salary dump by trading Palffy, Berard, Linden,etc. and running the team on a small budget.  When Wang took over, he let Milbury spend a bit more, but Milbury was obsessed with "winning now" and sacrificed the future by not letting young talent like Chara, Luongo, and Olli Jokinen develop.. But he couldn't do that either.  Look at their drafting before 2006. A bunch of Euros, most who don't leave home or play a season in the minors, then leave.  Now they still haven't signed a goal scorer.  Last season they were competitive until the AS break, then DP and their better  D-men went down with injuries. They were basically playing with Bridgeport.

Actually, Gordon has nothing to lose. If he wins, he will be hailed as a genius, if he doesn't, then he can say he couldn't win with the team Wang and Snow provided him with, a la Nolan, who I agreed with when he said he did the best he could with what he was given.  

I hope Gordon can at least instill a winning attitude in them and they can be competitive again this season. Hopefully DP won't need Life Alert again( I've fallen, and I can't get up). I can see the trap coming to NY again.  Arbour did it, but nobody called it a trap back then.

I hope they are just saving their cap space for 09-10 season, when they can rid of all those 37 year old players.

Why shoot myself? I'd rather just shoot Milbury, not just for  Islanders fans, but for the common good of hockey fans everywhere!

Sorry, I just spent 560 dollares to have my Central A/C fixed, so I'm hot under the collar a bit( I know, bad joke) Hey, when it's 107 degrees, the B@stards got you by the sac.

Answer 2

I agree that their head office has been full of chaos over a while now.  Maybe they all need to go into counseling to work out their differences….but then again, what do I know about getting along with people.  

Maybe it’s Jude’s fault, lol.    

On a side note:  It was natural for me to be skeptical of Scott Gordon’s credentials, but after all he does have a good AHL coaching record…and sometimes that is enough.  As an example, it was easy to be skeptical of John Stephens, whom also had a good AHL coaching record, and look at how wonderful he fits is in Philly.  Although, Stephens has a Calder Cup under his belt, Gordon won 49% of his games as an AHL coach, and Stephen won 48% of his games.  I guess we just have to hope personality differences don’t get in the way, and trust the Islanders can have a successful season.  

Answer 3

It seems like it is.Only ONE head coach in their history has over 82 career wins(Al Arbour) and only five coaches have led them to the playoffs.Only ONE coach have led them to the playoffs since the 94-95 season.Maybe Mike Milbury will eventually come back to the Islanders and take the reigns again..Laying Low just shot himself.

Answer 4

It is not the most desirable job in the league by any stretch of the imagination.

Since Al Arbour the seem to have a revolving door of Coaches with little or no success.  In fact if you look on HockeydB.com the coach with the longest tenure over that period is " Multiple coaches"- He coached 3 years in a row- from 96-99.

As to being a death sentence, Peter Laviolette managed to survive his tenure there and go on to better things, otherwise it has been bleak.

Edit- A true .500 (41 wins ) will be difficult with that roster.  82 points with the OTL and shoutout loss points could be an atainable goal.

I don't know much about this guy but if he can get a .500 record he will attarct interest from more established teams.

Answer 5

Just about as much as an islanders playing job is a death sentence....if you're looking for a cup that is...

Answer 6

LOL @ Laying Low just shot himself...