Ted Nolan/Neil Smith on the Isle

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

Wow...did not see that one happening...could've sworn they were holding out for Laviolette...

Good to see Nolan get another shot though. Neil on other hand...

[43%burnt 0]

good for nolan. he's been blacklisted for ever since the hasek thing.

[Chadd 916]

good for nolan. he's been blacklisted for ever since the hasek thing.

Nolan was really unprepared and arrogant according to most reports and even admitted that he refused to accept a couple jobs as an assistant. I'm interested to see how Neil does, I think he got a bad rap by having to do what Dolan wanted.

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

He wasn't around. He was fired and replaced by Sather in 2000, when Dolan took over the team. You're thinking of Checketts.

[Chadd 916]

Ahh, thought it was still Doaln back then. He did a very good job drafting and trading for a while and it led to a cup.

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

Problem with Neil is that he wnated to be bigger than what he was. The power struggle between him and Keenan killed what could've been a few great years for the Rangers.

[Chadd 916]

Keenan wanted to be GM and that caused most of the problems, he admitted as much himself. Going over your boss's head to get his job will usually cause a lot of problems

[Chadd 916]

I think Smith ended us off by drafting the next Bossy and Trottier in 1999. God bless him

The last few years of his tenure here was not too good at all involving drafting and some choices made

You don't like the Brendl and Lundmark picks? :D

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

He had a good scouting tandem in Pleau and Rockstrom over in Sweden (who he picked up from Detroit with him) When the other teams caught up on the European side and Pleau bolted to the Blues, that dried up real quick.

[cabreezy 0]

i'm so happy ted nolan has returned to the NHL and even more excited it's close to home :)

[Chadd 916]

He had a good scouting tandem in Pleau and Rockstrom over in Sweden (who he picked up from Detroit with him) When the other teams caught up on the European side and Pleau bolted to the Blues, that dried up real quick.

It just goes to show that nobody can do it all by themselves. Having good scouts is critical, especially under a cap. Look at the moves Craig Patrick pulled off when he actually had people scouting games and players compared to what he did over the last few years.

[Adam91 0]

Wasn't Nolan offered the first Tampa coaching job hands down? and declined due to Tampa being to far for his family.

Its suprising how Nolan is out of the NHL for so long, makes some noise at the Mem. Cup and is offered a job within weeks

[cabreezy 0]

Wasn't Nolan offered the first Tampa coaching job hands down? and declined due to Tampa being to far for his family.

Its suprising how Nolan is out of the NHL for so long, makes some noise at the Mem. Cup and is offered a job within weeks

His desire to coach was diminished with a racist stint with fans up in Canada, he was extremely offended and questioned whether or not he'd want to return to hockey. As he stated several times he wanted to see if the passion was still there so he took the job with Moncton and it proved to be a success. Of course it's a risk but IMO the Wang needs to take some risks b/c it seems that if the Isles continued going the way they're going the hole in Wang's pocket is gunna get bigger. I think it's worth the risk, Nolan has proved himself in the NHL, I heard the reason he left was due to tension between him and Hasek + GM of Buffalo at the time.

[cassius 0]

I think they both will work out fine on Long Island.

Nolan was dominating in the NHL and I think Neil Smith will be able to solve some of their roster woes.

[jwr 0]

It will be interesting to see what the team does on draft day with Neil Smith as GM. He has a reputation of trading for older more experienced players and the Islanders have some great prospects. The other thing to watch will be Nolan and Dipietro. I am wondering if this a powder keg ready to explode. How will Yashin react to Nolan when he is playing 4th line/3:00min ice time nightly?I believe Yashin can be a great player if fitted with the right supporting cast. He is not what Milbury thought he was going to be but still a great offensive threat-just vastly overpaid.I am excited for this year but hope that they play the kids as much as they can. As an Islander fan, who lives on Long Island I hope nobody is getting there hopes up too high. This is not the fix-all, there is a long way to go. A good first step though.