The Divorce is Now Final

If all mommy and daddy do is fight, they probably should find other people. That’s about the best way to describe the relationship between Garth Snow and Ted Nolan in the past few months. It was really, really obvious that they weren’t seeing eye to eye and today they finally made the divorce final.

Ted Nolan has been let go and the Islanders will be searching for their eighth coach in the new millennium (including interims). Regardless of whether you think Nolan is mommy or daddy in this example, that’s a lot of coaches. Nolan also leaves as another mildly successful coach on Long Island. He marks the fourth straight Islanders coach to vacate his position with a .500 or better winning percentage. There’s also no doubt he did got much more out of his teams than anyone expected. In the end, he couldn’t get along with GM Garth Snow, who didn’t get to select his own coach upon taking his post.

Who is to blame for the rift in the relationship is unknown but neither party is going to look good because of it. Nolan, again, will likely be labeled as a coach who can’t get along with the front office. That stigma kept him out of the NHL for nearly a decade. For Snow and the Islanders, it may only be considered another front office meltdown in an office that has been filled with them. First it was Neil Smith and then Pat LaFontaine. Now it’s Snow and Nolan. What coach is going to want to sign up for this revolving door?

Milbury’s not in charge anymore. The ownership is good and most importantly, stable. Nonetheless, the Islanders are again missing a solid leader at the helm. They’re still looking for the next Al Arbour. Some things never change.
_uacct = “UA-1868762-1”; urchinTracker();