Snow & the Scotts: Recruiting teachers for the Islanders nursery
by Dominik on Jul 21, 2009 7:04 PM EDT
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PrintNote: I'm on beach time, where I take a nap and wake up several piers down and an undertow or two away from safety, but I figured it'd be wrong not to chime in on the naming of Scott Allen as Scott Gordon's second hand-picked assistant coach. If I'm sounding a bit disoriented, it's because a typical day's routine and pressing concerns go like this: Wake up. Brew coffee. Drink coffee. Load cooler. Roll to beach. Imbibe. Nap in water. Drift away from screaming children. Wake up, reorient, refill, repeat.
Beyond representing a second vanilla name on the coaching staff ("Hi, this is my coach Scott, and this is my other coach Scott."), the Islanders hiring of Scott Allen is another nod toward the fabled halls of the youth movement.
Garth Snow's pick of Scott the 1st (Gordon), when other "experienced" NHL coaches were available and interested, was a deliberate turn toward focusing on a long-term leader who works well and happily with kids. Gordon's successful years in AHL Providence were his track record, while his hockey approach was the kicker that won him the job. Now those two former New Englander goalies have brought in Dean Chynoweth and Scott the 2nd (Allen) to complete a staff that can grow together along with the present and future kids Snow is betting his tenure on. The assortment of young players are Garth's nursery. The Scotts & Co. are the teachers Garth has picked to make it run.
Chris Botta tipped Allen as the likely coach last week when he was seen hanging around camp. The fact that preview of sorts didn't stand Isles nation on its head is just a reflection that a) assistant coach gigs aren't exactly exciting news, even in slow July, and b) Allen is another relatively obscure name who has paid his dues in the minors (both as a player and coach) developing players.
But like Gerard Gallant's rocky head coaching career in Columbus and his uneven power play on Long Island, the choice isn't insignificant. Whether Chynoweth or Allen have the systems acumen to improve the strategic side of the Islanders' NHL in-game performance remains to be seen. But like the long-tenured Darcy Regier/Lindy Ruff tandem in Buffalo (yes, we realize they are sans Cup), it's an attempt to build a cohesive team, with a long-term view, who can take the picks who are babies now and turn them into champions down the road. Be still, my heart: Did we say continuity? With the Islanders? Indeed.
So buckle in, because this leadership team should be at the helm for quite a while.
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Whats really amazing about the head coaching position of the Isles is this.
Milbury was hired as the 6th Coach in the History of the Islanders, nearly 22 years. Since Milbury’s hire in 95, Scott Gordon is our 14th coach (Not counting any multiple runs as coach, eg Henning and Al Arbour) meaning we’ve managed another 8 coaches in 14 years.
Yeah, that is crazy. This franchise’s history is sort of split into two eras — the Dynasty (and build-up) and the turnstile owner insanity. Hopefully this is era #3, and it looks more like the former than the latter.
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In fairness shouldn’t the bad years basically be the Milbury years? Milbury always complained about the owners but I always point to Ottawa that managed to nearly be bankrupt and still compete during the same time period.
Good point. And Ottawa had to survive their share of disinterested owners/misguided GMs. Humph.
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I was hoping this would be Gordon's last year
UGGGGHHHH!!!!
I’m not a big fan of this guy. I think he’s ok given that we are rebuilding. I was unimpressed the way he rubbed some of the vets the wrong way last year. Of course there is gonna be friction as this team builds with kids but I don’t know if this is the guy to smooth over those situations.
Already sour on Gordon? I was happy with him — he had some rookie mistakes, sure, but I didn’t think the Islanders vets who were unhappy had much of a leg to stand on.
Some cognitive dissonance is required for a vet to sign on to a rebuild: “Maybe we can make the playoffs and surprise someone, maybe I’m still a better player than half the league thinks,” etc., but one thing they have to be prepared for is the transition to youth and their inevitable transformation into trade bait. I thought Weight was the vet who had the best approach of all of them.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
P.S. I think he learned from the earlier bumps in the road with the vets. It was his first go around, he’ll handle it better this time.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
Hi Dom they just signed Biron
Do u see this as a good Move for depth or was there just too much value in signing a number1 goilie to descent money perhaps as trade bait later on. Kinda of using the advantage of having extra cap space
All. Of. The. Above.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
