Ted Nolan Leaves NY Islanders With Lots of Questions

There are many questions left unanswered dealing with not only the timing of Ted Nolan stepping down as the New York Islanders coach, but also what exactly transpired to lead this former Jack Adams Trophy winner to surprisingly leave the organization.

Nolan, who enjoyed his best season behind an NHL bench back in 1997 when he won the Jack Adams Trophy for coach of the year, left the Sabres after that season and mysteriously didn’t return to the NHL until two years ago when the Islanders gave him an opportunity.

In his first season, Nolan led his underdog squad to a playoff birth on the last day of the season, before getting eliminated in the first round by ironically enough the Sabres in five games.

This season, the honeymoon period was over for Nolan who according to rumors had many rifts with general manager Garth Snow, and some of his key players. “It wasn’t going to work if two people aren’t on the same page,” Snow told the media after a morning meeting at the Nasseau Coliseum last Monday when they parted ways with Nolan. “He did some good things for us and he’s a good person.” “Last year we snuck into the playoffs and this year obviously was a sub par season.”

A huge question about Nolan leaving due to what is being termed “philosophical differences” is why let him go now as opposed to earlier in the off- season? In a surprising move, Nolan left on the same morning that the Islanders were scheduled to begin day one of their rookie evaluation camp.

With only one year left on his three- year contract, Nolan and Snow saw things differently about why the Islanders struggled so badly last season. Snow believed that the players were underachieving while Nolan back in February voiced a different opinion. “We don’t have natural 50 goal scorers,” said Nolan in what many believed was a shot at this general manager. “We have guys who work for everything they get.” “That’s the way we played.” When reminded last Monday of those comments, Snow replied by saying, “I thought Bill Guerin and Miro Satan were pretty good goal scorers.” “It doesn’t do any good to comment about it, but last summer Ted was in the process of bringing in free agents.” The two frequently disagreed on playing time for the younger players as Nolan liked to depend on his veterans.

Other rumors detail that Nolan who apparently didn’t get along well with star goalie Dominik Hasek in Buffalo, also had friction with his starter Rick DiPietro. Late in the season, his goalie got a leave of absence to attend his grandmother’s funeral. When he returned, Nolan played backup Wade Dubielewicz instead of DiPietro in the second of back- to- back contests against the New York Rangers.

While it seems only a matter of time before Nolan get back behind an NHL bench, the exact reasons and the timing might make future coaches leery about joining the organization. Last year, Nolan finished with a 35-38-9 record. Overall in New York, he went 74-68-21. “I was a little surprised, but at the end of the day they made a decision and are moving in a new direction,” DiPietro said in a phone interview. 

 

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