The Wrong Guy Lost
July 14th, 2008 by Tom
Resigning for “philosophical differences” is about as descriptive as resigning “for personal reasons.” There’s some nice words in there but what the hell does it really mean?
In Ted Nolan’s sudden departure as coach of the New York Islanders, it likely means he no longer wanted to work in a place where he was expected to produce playoff victories but was given a line-up of spare parts, has-beens and never-will-be’s. I love the OrangeAndBlue, but there’s no way I can sit here today and honestly tell you the roster during Nolan’s time with the club was anything but suspect.
Whether it was Nolan ultimately behind this or Snow or Chuck Wang, it doesn’t really matter. Obviously these guys could not get on the same page about what the Islanders are supposed to be. And I’m afraid the wrong guy lost.
The Islanders ask their fanbase to believe. They ask their fanbase to remember the good old days and use retired number nights and championship anniversaries to keep the ticket sales going but at some point management is going to have to be held accountable - and that means putting together a team with a real shot of winning the Cup. This isn’t about first-round playoff exits. The bar has been set so low now that no Islander fan ever seriously thinks of his or her team winning a championship. How did that happen? It shouldn’t be permitted. The Islander fans have been loyal. They’ve waited out more than their share of dark days. The Islanders need to provide some light. It’s time to flip the switch one way or the other here.
Big decision coming up with the new coach but I don’t expect much. Why should I? I’m just an Islander fan.
Blackie Says
so depressing. like yiu said, dark days on the island. shouldn’t have to be this way. need some of the young guys to develop and become big players. otherwise, it’ll be dark for a longtime.
Jul 15th, 2008 at 11:14 am