Scott Gordon & Garth Snow have to sit down, maybe even with Wang, and discuss where they want this team to go. It’s getting kind of obvious that the guys we have now aren’t all pulling in one direction.
  Make a decision on some of the guys we have now, whether to keep em or dump em. Some teams wait until til its too late to decide on what to do with a guy… The Isles have to sit down with all of the players and see if they will be in our future or our past.
  IMO, try to sign Sutton. Hillen has one year left, I think he deserves an extension. Jackman and Weight should either be traded at the deadline or just let them go in April. If we make a trade, throw in either Witt or Biron. Either way, Biron is a FA in July. I like Park and Sim. I know some people don’t . but they both have a purpose and are 4th liners. Blake Comeau, Freddy Meyer and yes, Tambellini should be traded. Comeau hasn’t shown anything lately and looks as frustrated as Taveras. Although I like him as a player, maybe it is time to trade Hunter.
   Re-sign Bailey, Okposo and Nielsen to 3 or 4 years at least. These guys make a good line.
  I pray that this summer the Islanders can sign a some free agents. I still believe others have low opinions of the team, but we can try anyways.

When Nolan was fired we were told that there were philosophical differences and Ted wasn’t on board with the youth movement. I find that kind of funny.
Maybe Ted didn’t want to be an AHL coach (teacher) at the NHL level. That’s what Snow has forced Gordon (who was a willing participant) to do. Gordon is doing an acceptable job, but it’s hard to say more than that about his performance. It all depends on how you perceive the talent, and the system.
I enjoy watching Gordon hockey when it’s working more than Nolan hockey at it’s finest… but I’m pretty sure ted Nolan would not have allowed the negative aspects of this team to continue for as long as they have. I couldn’t see Kyle Okposo skating back to the bench celebrating a goal with John tavares lying on the ice after getting demolished. His last play that night would have been the goal… and he would have found some vagisil in his locker the next day.
Gordon has been charged with something more than an NHL coach should be. He has to be a father to these kids as well as coach… and frankly, I don’t think the NHL is the place for Robert Young. Al Arbour had the same charge, and he developed Gillies, Nystrom, Howatt into MEN who NEVER HUNG THEIR HEAD…ANYWHERE! Look what Blake Comeau is becoming… he conjurs images of Peggy Flemming…well… without the skating ability.
I’m not, and probably will never be a big Gordon fan… that doesn’t mean I don’t think he hasn’t been a positive. But the fact that kids like Bailey, Tavares, Hillen and Okposo (to a lesser extent) have been physically dominated is proof that Gordon just wasn’t fully ready for this role. How many times have we watched those kids and others have to pick themselves up after questionable hits. They shoud be commended, but at some point there needs to be an ASK QUESTIONS LATER guy out there to stop the insanity. Nolan had Simon (tough to use insanity and Simon in the same post without expecting some feedback)… Say what you want about Simon, he got it… and ted knew he could TRUST him… until I think Chris wasn’t sure he could trust himself. But there would be a guy, or guys on this team to help these kids get to where they need to be if Nolan was still here.
When FLASH has been given bullets, he’s left the gun in his holster. He has no problem using Gervais, who sometimes looks like a 5 year old separated from his mother at Macy’s, but he couldn’t find a spot for Fritz, Wrecker or Gillies… none of whom ever was given a chance to make marquee mistakes. His choice was Fotonat… nothing against Nate, but I could kick the crap out of him… He was more valuable as an energy and faceoff guy… but got sold as a “grit” guy… Grit guys are Sean Hill, Brendan Witt… BILL GUERIN… WHO GOT IT… Guerin protected weight like some guys protect their wives. That’s how friendships and teammates EVOLVE. The atmosphere that Gordon has created is sinful.
This is pure speculation, but I have a feeling that Nolan would never send KIDS out unprotected… Gordon just doesn’t have the stones to push back… and I’m not sure Snow knows how to fix it.
On the pure hockey side of things… I’d say that Gordon has done an okay job with the “kids”… but I’d have loved to have seen a Hillen and MacDonald grow under Ted.. who got Bruno to play his best hockey ever in the playoffs. He already had success with MacDonald… and made a 40 goal scorer out of Jason Blake. Gordon Might not squeeze 40 goals out of his top two projected scorers (Okposo/Tavares).
Now Snow is going to try to solve his physicality problem with KIDS. Don’t expect too much from them.
I’m pretty excited to see both of them, but I’m also concerned that they will be over their heads, and blamed for what I perceive as Snow’s worst mistakes.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

the fact that kids like Bailey, Tavares, Hillen and Okposo (to a lesser extent) have been physically dominated is proof that Gordon just wasn’t fully ready for this role

I do not see the logic in this- like, at all.
The fact that they are young kids who havent learned how to play like men 100% of the time yet when they are rookies and kids is Gordons “fault”? Its not ANYONES “fault,” it just is what it is.

BTW,
The Detroit Red Wings have placed the newly acquired Ole-Kristian Tollefsen on waivers. Anaheim’s Nick Boynton has cleared re-entry waivers.
  Supposedly, Franzen is back from injuries, so they need his spot.

http://www.hockeyleaks.com/

TMC,
I don’t fault the kids for not being prepared, but the fact that this team isn’t constructed properly. Nolan, better understood the architecture of an NHL team. You don’t put a garden on a concrete slab. He would have pushed back at not having guys who can protect these kids.
I cringe when I see JT in a vulnerable position… and Hillen… jeez, how many times was he crushed this year. Bruno looks like a kitten at the dog poiund sometimes….I’m not sure Gordon gets the fact that X’s and O’s don’t mean shit when your players are scared to skate… and nobody sticks up for each other.
You’re a very astute hockey fan… I agree with almost everything you say… but if you can’t see these kids becoming tentative we’re not watching the same games. That’s not “nobody’s fault”… and sometimes ruins careers.

If a coach doesn’t have a say in a matter that big it’s because he has absolutely NO POWER. I think Snow and Gordon have a good relationship, but they keep missing a very important aspect of the game.
Please tell me you don’t think this team is SOFT. I’m not a fan of Broad Street Bully hockey, nor do I want to take this team to Brian Burke World… but the general dynamic of contact sports will never change. They need to build a brotherhood… and it’s not done by celebrating a goal while your teammate is lying in a pool of blood and chicklets.
We will have to agree to disagree.

I am not happy with the general toughness of the team, either. I just dont think that its as simple as what any coach says. The Isles do forecheck, they have consistently outhit the majority of their opponenets for years on end. Doing that IS coaching… but having guys with the physical presence to intimidate while doing so, a coach cant really change that.

Dom,
After reading your post on the subject a while back I know we’re on the same page. After reading TMC’s post for more than three years, I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page as well.
Where I think we may be on three different prongs of of the trident is this. I feel that the team needs to be tough as a WHOLE. I feel that Snow is correct in assuming that the non-presence of a Brashear type heavyweight only removes ice boxing… which I can’t stand. If the NHL really wants to continue that nonsense they should promote bouts between periods.
The source of toughness has to come from kids like Okposo, Comeau and vets like Hunter and Sutton. None of these guys are “fighters”, but they should at least be there to say, “HEY, I’M HERE, YOU WANT HIM, YOU GO THROUGH ME” This team has none of that.
You don’t get that with a 5:00 goon… and what they did was try to fit a Wrecker, Gillies or Fritz into a 9min forward… that wasn’t going to happen either. You need to just let the game flow with those guys in the lineup… sure, you’ll give up a few goals… they weren’t even given a chance to make those mistakes. But Bruno gets the opportunity to do it every night, and besides avery telling him that he uses too much garlic in his osso bucco, he would never be considered a physical presence.
My point is that Nolan (or any experienced coach) would have made it a point to make sure that Michael came out of the bathroom with more than his bracciola in his hands.
If I was Mr. tavares I’d have already had a long talk with Mr. Snow about the welfare of my son… same goes for Mr. Bailey… I think Mr. Hillen thinks his son is made of rubber, and he might be right (I really like that guy).
Step one… Okposo has his xBox taken away until his voice cracks. He needs to show a little mean once in a while… he’s just too damn sweet. they also need a Chris Neil type, and soon.

Bob Gainey is stepping down as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=309444

Or is Gordon deliberately breaking the kids in at home – if you look at the 1st gamer under Gordon 7 out of 8 have been played at home, with Kohn as the exception.

If this is the case, I think its a good move – as this way they can be more comfortable and as the Isles would get the last change they could better match the new kids against the level of opposition that they could deal with (read: weak opposition).

Its not the early 90s or the 80s anymore. You don’t use a spot on an enforcer. The way you really protect your stars is by making teams pay for their penalties. We don’t need an enforcer, we just need the Islanders to keep getting better. Eventually when your scoring on the PP on a regular basis, the other team will think twice about sending the Enforcer on your stars. Secondly, as you get better on the PP and better scoring, teams will definitely think twice about sending a speed cone onto the ice against your best line.