Couple of Tidbits...

A few notes regarding Tom Renney...

First off, out of the 4 teams who started the season in Europe, none of them have the same coach they started out with. Barry Melrose was replaced in Tampa Bay early on. Craig Hartsburg was fired from Ottawa, and then Michel Therrien was fired in Pittsburgh. Peter Laviolette (Carolina) and Denis Savard (Chicago) are the only coaches to have been fired who did not play overseas.

Secondly, out of 32 teams in the NHL, only 9 have made the playoffs every year since the lockout ended. Six of them (Wings, Stars, Flames, Predators, Sharks, Ducks) are from the West. The only East teams to do so? Ottawa, New Jersey, and the Rangers.

Renney ended his Rangers career 164-121-42 (those 42 are overtime/shootout losses, as he had no ties in the 2003-04 season when he went 5-15-0). He received 363 points in 327 games. He was 11-13 in postseason play, winning 2 playoff series (Atlanta, New Jersey) and losing 3 (New Jersey, Buffalo, Pittsburgh).

A Call for the Head...

Well, another game, another ineffective power play, another weak performance by veterans, another short-handed goal against, another loss, another 2 points the Rangers will be missing come late-March, early-April.

Who's fault is it? 

The GM who assembled the team? Partly. Wade Redden should never have been signed. Michal Rozsival should have received less money so a real 1st- or 2nd-defenseman could have been signed. They should have signed Scott Gomez or Chris Drury in 2007, not both. (However, signing Markus Naslund has worked out, and the trade for Nik Zherdev was a steal.)

The players who play? Partly. A 7th defender should be brought up so Redden or Dmitri Kalinin can watch the game from the stands. 

The coach? Absolutely. When the power play continually doesn't score and gives up goals, why would he keep putting the same personnel on the ice? The GM gave him these players, the players play to (hopefully) the best of their ability, and when they faulter, he keeps giving them more and more chances. Petr Prucha seems to be a good player. I remember him having success on the power play in 2005-06 when he stood at the doorstep and banged in rebounds. Why not try them instead of the ineptitude of Drury-Redden-Gomez-Rozsival-Naslund? 

I don't know if anyone out there can coach this team better than Tom Renney, but it's becoming obvious that the Rangers might need to try a replacement. As long as said replacement is not Glen Sather again.

The real question, however, is this:

Can this be the first team in history whose power play ends up a minus in the +/- catergory?

* * *

Alex Ovechkin had 9 shots on goal last night. The Rangers' highest player was 3. Hmmmm. By the way, Ovechkin did score. It wasn't a picture-perfect goal, but if you get the puck to the net, good things happen.

They Didn't Screw It Up!

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 Final Three

We take a break from Gretzky Week to report - get this - actual, real NHL news.

As per the only person who actually reports on the Islanders, Greg Logan at Newsday, Garth Snow has narrowed down his list of coaching candidates to three. The lucky three are Bob Hartley, Paul Maurice, and Scott Gordon. While the first two are hardly surprising, the inclusion of Gordon on that list is the wild card. Something tells me he's the one with the best shot at the job.

This is the way I see it. While Hartley has won a Stanley Cup and Maurice brought Carolina to the Cup Finals, both of them have faltered on less-talented teams. I'd wager that this year's Islander team won't be as good as Hartley's Thrasher teams or the teams Maurice had in Carolina and Toronto. Do you really want to be stuck with someone who has proven that he can't win without talent?

Sure, whoever takes over this team is coaching with at least one eye on the future. But a competitive team in the short-term is important to keep fan interest alive on Long Island. I'd hardly call a Southeast title in 2007 for Hartley evidence of his ability to help this team win now. Nor would I overlook the fact that Maurice hasn't won a playoff series outside of his 2002 run to the Finals. If we can all agree that we can do without mediocrity (or, at least, the potential for mediocrity), we can also agree that there's a better answer out there.

Enter Scott Gordon.

Islander fans may recall the last time they plucked an unproven coach from the Providence Bruins of the AHL. That was when they hired Peter Laviolette. He's probably the best coach, with the obvious exception of Al Arbour, that this team has ever had. (Hard to believe, right? Look it up.) Now, the Islanders are looking to his roots to find their successor. And, quite frankly, they could do much worse.

Scott Gordon is the reigning AHL Coach Of The Year. His teams have steadily improved over the years he's been coach; while the point totals remained relatively modest until this past season, the Bruins' goal differential has either remained constant or increased each year. He's developed a number of youngsters that were a part of Boston's resurgent season in 2007-08. And while his playoff record isn't all that impressive, it's worth noting that his best performance was an appearance in the AHL Conference Finals in the lockout year of 2004-05, when every team was stacked. (Fun Fact: Guess who the leading scorer in Providence was that year? Andy Hilbert.)

I know that there's a bit of doubt about Gordon, as there is (and should be) about any coach without NHL experience. There are also those who will say that we're better off with that which we do know than that which we don't. But I disagree with that line of thinking. Besides, think about what we do know about Hartley; namely, that he's been fired twice and couldn't win in an awful division with Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa at his disposal. What do we know about Maurice? That he, like Hartley, has been fired twice and couldn't compete in the crappy Southeast. Do we want a coach that can't win with 25% of their season played against the likes of Florida? Jeez.

That's why I say Gordon's the answer. Considering the alternatives, he pretty much has to be.

Now, let me stress that the Islanders absolutely cannot screw up this chance. I'd sooner they go into the season with an interim coach, then hire the right coach in November. They can't be in a spot when they're firing their coach right at the time when the young guys are ready to hit the big-time. Get it right now, and deal with the fall-out this season. In all honesty, it's not going to be anything to write home about anyway.

All this said, I could deal with any of the three on Snow's final list. But the Islanders are fooling themselves if they think Hartley or Maurice can turn them into a winner any sooner than Gordon. And since Gordon is the better developer of young talent, it's pretty clear that he should be the guy.

Tortorella?

Busy morning so far...

Kukla's Korner reports that the Islanders have asked Tampa Bay for permission to speak with former coach John Tortorella. The Lightning have approved this request.

It doesn't mean anything, but at least we know that the Islanders really are looking for the best option and aren't going to settle for some minor league coach. However, I would advise Mr. Snow that Tortorella can be just as controversial as Ted Nolan was. The fans don't mind that as much, but Snow might be looking for someone who can toe the company line better than Nolan did. Tortorella might not be that guy. That said, it's hard to argue with the young players who developed so well under his tutelage - Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis, and Vinny Prospal are just a few players who had breakout seasons for Tortorella.

We'll see what happens. Quite frankly, it's refreshing that they're doing this the right way. Those who had doubts certainly had their reasons.

The Aftermath

Now that we've all had a little time to absorb the shock of this whole thing and digest it a bit, there are a few things that have become clear.

- While it's going to down as Snow firing Nolan, it's pretty clear that the feelings that the two couldn't work together were fairly mutual. Nolan hardly sounded broken up about the firing, which suggests that he was ready to move on anyway.

- Snow's alibi that he "realized" the two had differing philosophies is a load of crap. You don't work with someone for two years, then suddenly realize that you don't think the same way. There's something else here, and I think it's their summer ticket push.

- It would seem as though the Islanders are done signing free agents this summer. Long Island was a tough enough draw 24 hours ago. With the second big-time shakeup in two years, it's going to be hard to convince anyone to come here.

- While the Islanders are losing a great coach in Ted Nolan, the real losers are the Islander fans, who must once again deal with their team being the league's laughing stock.

Such is the M.O. of the Islanders. Every time you think they're getting things going, they go ahead and do something that reminds you of exactly why they're an afterthought on Long Island. So, in tomorrow's papers, you'll read ten pages about the MLB All-Star Game and the 900th gushing tribute to Yankee Stadium published in a New York daily this year. But in every paper not called Newsday, Ted Nolan's demise will be buried underneath the stories on the WNBA and horse racing. Sure, that's partially due to hockey's lack of popularity (and baseball's obscene popularity, even when both teams are a combined twelve games over .500), but the Islanders do themselves no favors by conducting business in their style.

So, now what?

Let's pretend for a second that the Islanders aren't going to sign a minor-league coach, even though it's at least a fair shot that they will. Instead, let's take a look at some of the coaches that have NHL coaching experience. (By no means is this a comprehensive list of candidates.) There are a lot of names out there... but are they good coaches? Let's find out.

Bill Barber
Coached the Flyers for one partial season (2000-01) and one full season (2001-02). Won the Adams in 00-01, but lost in the first round in both years. Hasn't coached since being fired in 2002.

Pat Burns
Hasn't coached since 2004 due to cancer, but won hardware at every stop in his career - Adams trophies with Montreal ('89), Toronto ('93), and Boston ('98); Stanley Cup with Devils ('03).

Marc Crawford
A candidate for the coaching job back in '06, he is most famous for winning the Cup with Colorado in '96. Has won just one playoff series since leaving the Avs. Floundered in a rebuilding project in Los Angeles.

Robbie Ftorek
Known mainly for getting canned just before the 2000 playoffs and bouncing around the minor leagues. Is said to be a great developer of young talent. Has won only one playoff series in the NHL, but has never had a losing season either.

Bob Hartley
Has registered more than a point per game in each season as a coach except 03-04. Hasn't won a playoff series since leaving Colorado, where he won a Cup in 00-01. Went to at least the third round in each year with the Avs.

Paul Maurice
The youngest coach on this list by a mile. Aside from Carolina's Finals run in 01-02, has never won a playoff series in the NHL. Is used to chaos from coaching in Toronto for two seasons.

Joel Quenneville
Has never registered fewer than 87 points in any of his full seasons; however has traditionally had loaded teams to work with. Ability to develop young players is a bit unproven. Has never coached in the East.

Pat Quinn
The long shot. Has reached the conference finals in three different decades. With the exception of his stint in LA in the late '80s, has only missed the playoffs twice. Advanced age could be a deterrent.

John Tortorella
Known for winning the Cup in '04 and for trashing his own players in the media. Seems like he'd be a good fit to replace Barry Melrose on ESPN. Coached the Rangers for four games in 2000.

Of these coaches, I'd be fine with Burns, Maurice, Quenneville, or Tortorella; I'd tolerate Barber, Ftorek, or Hartley; I'd hate Crawford or Quinn. There are a ton of other guys out there as well. If I were to venture a guess as to what route Snow and Wang might take, it'd be either a minor-league coach or a forgotten guy like Ftorek who's good with young players. I highly doubt it's going to be a big-ticket coach like Pat Burns. After all, if they're going with youth, they need a guy who's going to be around for a while, and the best bets to stick around are going to be those with something to prove.

Losing Nolan is a tough blow. I'm not sure they can do any better with this group. But maybe Snow can find a diamond in the rough here. Remember, everyone thought the Islanders were crazy when they hired Peter Laviolette, and he didn't do too badly. Unfortunately, as is so often the case with the Islanders, we'll have to wait and see.