I'm almost shocked.
The Islanders actually did the right thing. And quite frankly, we fans deserve the right to say that.
Is Scott Gordon an upgrade over Ted Nolan? That remains to be seen. But at this point, it would certainly seem that Gordon is a better fit for this group of players. I guess that's all you can ask for in a coach. The Islanders got that, and perhaps much more.
We can gather that the Islanders will end up paying Gordon less than they would have paid Paul Maurice or Bob Hartley. We can also assume that Gordon has more to prove than any other coach they could have hired. In other words, we don't have to hear about how so-and-so won at some other city. Instead, we get to watch a coach show us he's earned the right to be the head coach of the New York Islanders. A hungry team combined with a hungry coach.
What does that mean? There's a great chance he'll do a better job than any of the other candidates would have.
I can now say that I'm officially excited about this upcoming season for the Islanders. I know it's going to be pretty brutal - we'll be adding the phrase "growing pains" to our Islanders drinking game this season. But there's an optimism now that hasn't been here in some time. We're not staring at a perpetual chase for the eighth seed. We can now look toward the future as a tangible entity, not just the catalyst for more bad trades and rebuilding projects. That does a lot for the fanbase. It'll still take some work to get the casual fans back into the building, but as time progresses, the job will become easier.
It was so important that the Islanders did this right, which is why so many of us have tried to joke about it. Notice how Sparky The Dragon is the leading vote-getter in our poll for who would become the next Islanders' coach. As I've said to anyone who would listen, I'd sooner they went into December with an interim coach and gotten this right than have them hire a retread coach that they'd fire two years from now. This would qualify as getting it right.
Now, the work begins for Mr. Scott Gordon. The Islanders don't like to talk about this one too much, but it's true - with the exception of Al Arbour, no Islander coach has ever made it more than two consecutive seasons without being canned. Is Gordon the guy to change that trend? Let's hope so.
The Islanders actually did the right thing. And quite frankly, we fans deserve the right to say that.
Is Scott Gordon an upgrade over Ted Nolan? That remains to be seen. But at this point, it would certainly seem that Gordon is a better fit for this group of players. I guess that's all you can ask for in a coach. The Islanders got that, and perhaps much more.
We can gather that the Islanders will end up paying Gordon less than they would have paid Paul Maurice or Bob Hartley. We can also assume that Gordon has more to prove than any other coach they could have hired. In other words, we don't have to hear about how so-and-so won at some other city. Instead, we get to watch a coach show us he's earned the right to be the head coach of the New York Islanders. A hungry team combined with a hungry coach.
What does that mean? There's a great chance he'll do a better job than any of the other candidates would have.
I can now say that I'm officially excited about this upcoming season for the Islanders. I know it's going to be pretty brutal - we'll be adding the phrase "growing pains" to our Islanders drinking game this season. But there's an optimism now that hasn't been here in some time. We're not staring at a perpetual chase for the eighth seed. We can now look toward the future as a tangible entity, not just the catalyst for more bad trades and rebuilding projects. That does a lot for the fanbase. It'll still take some work to get the casual fans back into the building, but as time progresses, the job will become easier.
It was so important that the Islanders did this right, which is why so many of us have tried to joke about it. Notice how Sparky The Dragon is the leading vote-getter in our poll for who would become the next Islanders' coach. As I've said to anyone who would listen, I'd sooner they went into December with an interim coach and gotten this right than have them hire a retread coach that they'd fire two years from now. This would qualify as getting it right.
Now, the work begins for Mr. Scott Gordon. The Islanders don't like to talk about this one too much, but it's true - with the exception of Al Arbour, no Islander coach has ever made it more than two consecutive seasons without being canned. Is Gordon the guy to change that trend? Let's hope so.
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