Newsday: Garth Snow wants to keep Islanders coaches

[periferal]

We are not the Pens. There is no Malkin to play JT's Crosby, and Letang is nowhere to be seen. Secondary scoring got them past the Caps, something we do not have.
We need a better middle six, and probably 2 top line wings.
A new coach would not hurt, though.

And that's exactly the point. When you can improve an aspect of your organization you should improve it. The roster has some holes which may take some time to address.

That said in the meantime, why not fix one of the things you can control - The coach. You don't need to draft a guy and wait 4 years for him to be ready. You don't have to find a trade partner and give us assets. You can fire capuano today and replace him tomorrow with anyone, but the 29 other human beings who are currently coaching other NHL teams.

 

[periferal]

I don't ever see Jack Capuano coaching a game in the Stanley Cup Finals. That means we start every year aiming for something less than that. So there's that.

Bingo. It's like I've been saying...If you're girlfriend isn't that attractive and you know you're not going to marry her, then it's only a matter of time before you need to break up. In that case you might as well do it ASAP so you can either find your wife or have a lot more fun.

 

[OlTimeHockey]

And that's exactly the point. When you can improve an aspect of your organization you should improve it. The roster has some holes which may take some time to address.

That said in the meantime, why not fix one of the things you can control - The coach. You don't need to draft a guy and wait 4 years for him to be ready. You don't have to find a trade partner and give us assets. You can fire capuano today and replace him tomorrow with anyone, but the 29 other human beings who are currently coaching other NHL teams.

I guess you wanted Arbour and Torrey gone in '78 as well?

The game plan has to change and the guy isn't getting the players to work....some do, many don't.

Which in some circles means I hated Arbour in '78, I guess? And I think Torrey as well? Or maybe it means Cappy and Snow are evolving into Arbour and Torrey....were they size 12's?

 

[OlTimeHockey]

Bingo. It's like I've been saying...If you're girlfriend isn't that attractive and you know you're not going to marry her, then it's only a matter of time before you need to break up. In that case you might as well do it ASAP so you can either find your wife or have a lot more fun.

That was actually quite spot on.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Bingo. It's like I've been saying...If you're girlfriend isn't that attractive and you know you're not going to marry her, then it's only a matter of time before you need to break up. In that case you might as well do it ASAP so you can either find your wife or have a lot more fun.

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, better make an ugly woman your wife.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

Which in some circles means I hated Arbour in '78, I guess? And I think Torrey as well? Or maybe it means Cappy and Snow are evolving into Arbour and Torrey....were they size 12's?

More like Stan and Laurel Hardy.

 

[macleod50]

More like Stan and Laurel Hardy.

Or Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

I want Capuano gone as much as most of you, but you're kidding yourselves if you think he was going to be fired after getting to the second round. Next year if the Islanders don't get out of the first or make the playoffs entirely you might see a new coach.

 

[MJF]

Or Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

I want Capuano gone as much as most of you, but you're kidding yourselves if you think he was going to be fired after getting to the second round. Next year if the Islanders don't get out of the first or make the playoffs entirely you might see a new coach.

If that happens it should incur wholesale changes.

We'll see if the new owners instill a culture of accountability or will it be business as was usual under Charles Wang.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

Or Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

I want Capuano gone as much as most of you, but you're kidding yourselves if you think he was going to be fired after getting to the second round. Next year if the Islanders don't get out of the first or make the playoffs entirely you might see a new coach.

Hah, thanks for the correction on Laurel and Hardy!

Here is the problem with what you proposed. Yes, it is logical but:
A) we have said that for how long? When is enough, enough?
B) anyone who wants this club to improve the coaching is forced, yes forced into an uncomfortable position having to hope the team fails for an entire season to see change occur.

I do not think that is reasonable. It is like telling the owner of a car that they have to wait until the brakes completely fail before replacing them. No, how about we analyze what he brings to the table and how long it will take Kinder Capuano to reach the 12th grade of NHL coaching? No more wasted years with this placeholder for a real coach and staff please.

Another take on this. Remember that Lamorielo character? He used Larry Robinson as a minors coach, scout, NHL coach... kept him in the organization and moved him around as needed. No one's feelings were hurt and it was a win win. Why can't we just accept the fact Capuano is not NHL material yet, move him to Bridgeport and try to develop him into a better NHL coach where it won't hurt us, and then bring him back when his skills are stronger? That is an option. That is a logical, friendly option. A Stanley Cup GM uses that approach. So why don't we?

Could it be because Capuano is incredibly cheap? If so does that mean this organization is still not serious about competing, and maybe never will be?

 

[Islanderfan17]

I don't ever see Jack Capuano coaching a game in the Stanley Cup Finals. That means we start every year aiming for something less than that. So there's that.

Yep, I've been saying this for literally years. What's the point of having a non Stanley Cup caliber coach if that's the goal? By keeping him around, we have been saying "We only want to make it this far".

So tired of this guy

 

[dlawong]

I am ok with Cappy but I am a bit worry about some of the things he may or may not do:

- lack a sense of urgency to make a coaching move to change the momentum at critical moment of the game. He is a bit better, but still not always there to make the call as needed
- who to put on ice at key moments - he got be honest with himself and make calls that is right for the team not to just please certain players
- I found him plays favourite or have too much royalties tied up in certain players. He need to get past that and ice line-up based entirely on performance and merit.
- how much does he works with player one on one (in practice and drill) to actually teach them (why do young players does not seem to be improving much?) Does he totally believe that coaches can't teach any player at the NHL level and you can only fine tune your play at the minor league level. Even some of his veteran players can use improvements in some part of their games. I believe he need to communicate with all his players more during the game.

Good thing about him:
- He does not embarrass his players in public and treat most of them with respect, maybe sometime just a touch too much
- He has a decent good sense of humour and does not display body language that will lose his bench
- He does not burn out his players. He roll the 4 lines and use all D pairings
- He seems to cares about this players and their well being
- He treats media and fans with respect

His system is average, not bad nor good - the Isles does not play a boring style when they are on it. If the speed of the whole team improves over next two years they should be more effective in executing their plays. Speed is the only way to get time and space at this level.

Now the PP - that is an area they really need to work on next season.

They also still need to improve how to move puck out of their own zones with more puck control and poise.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

...Good thing about him:
- He does not embarrass his players in public and treat most of them with respect, maybe sometime just a touch too much
- He has a decent good sense of humour and does not display body language that will lose his bench
- He does not burn out his players. He roll the 4 lines and use all D pairings
- He seems to cares about this players and their well being
- He treats media and fans with respect

You have every right to your opinion dlawong, obviously. However, I had to weigh in on your positives, particularly the bolded one because it simply isn't true. Jack regularly burns out Tavares and the top line by giving them crazy shift lengths regularly. I routinely posted about JT and his 1:30 to 2:00 shifts, let alone all the 1:00 long shifts he has in between. Instead of a Positive it is a 100% negative. Also I wanted to point out that most of the rest of his positives are the players like him. That's not much of a positive, and it really is his only positive. That means Aunt B would bring as much to the coaching table as he does. It is time to move on from this cheap placeholder.

 

[dlawong]

You have every right to your opinion dlawong, obviously. However, I had to weigh in on your positives, particularly the bolded one because it simply isn't true. Jack regularly burns out Tavares and the top line by giving them crazy shift lengths regularly. I routinely posted about JT and his 1:30 to 2:00 shifts, let alone all the 1:00 long shifts he has in between. Instead of a Positive it is a 100% negative. Also I wanted to point out that most of the rest of his positives are the players like him. That's not much of a positive, and it really is his only positive. That means Aunt B would bring as much to the coaching table as he does. It is time to move on from this cheap placeholder.

I think not getting off ice at the right time is really on JT even though he is my favorite NHL player this one I think he needs to adjust especially once he gets older. That is why Cappy need to take the gut and communicate with him more often about this.

He does roll the 4th line and their bottom pairing more than a lot of other coaches in this league and that 4th line sure responded.

I would like to see Cappy be replaced with a more experienced NHL coach but until Snow or the owner is willing to do so, as fans we can only point out the areas he need to improve and hope he is willing to try. Fans and even the media has no bearing on the business decisions of the owners unless no one is willing to show up at the game. Next year will be interesting as I think if the team slides and not make playoff without a very good excuse, both Snow and Cappy will be gone.

 

[Clutcherbuck]

I guess you wanted Arbour and Torrey gone in '78 as well?

The game plan has to change and the guy isn't getting the players to work....some do, many don't.

Which in some circles means I hated Arbour in '78, I guess? And I think Torrey as well? Or maybe it means Cappy and Snow are evolving into Arbour and Torrey....were they size 12's?

I have resisted all off season posting essentially what you have said here. This board would have hated Al Arbour then.

Like it or not, us making the second round bought Cappy next season, at least, to start it. You don't fire a coach right after you made the second round for the first time in two decades. Some one said a "new coach can't hurt". Absoutely it can.

Someone made the gf/marriage comparison. You don't just dump that gf after the hottest date you've ever had, either.

 

[periferal]

I guess you wanted Arbour and Torrey gone in '78 as well?

The game plan has to change and the guy isn't getting the players to work....some do, many don't.

Which in some circles means I hated Arbour in '78, I guess? And I think Torrey as well? Or maybe it means Cappy and Snow are evolving into Arbour and Torrey....were they size 12's?

Did you just compare Capuano to Al Arbour? Go get a tetanus shot stat.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

I think not getting off ice at the right time is really on JT even though he is my favorite NHL player this one I think he needs to adjust especially once he gets older. That is why Cappy need to take the gut and communicate with him more often about this.

Agree to disagree here. A few times here and there, sure it is on the player. But do it as often as he does and it is a coaching thing. Bench him a few shifts and he will get the message. Now in contrast he does it less in the playoffs. That means someone lengthens or shortens his leash. Take a big Capaguessuano as to who is holding that leash.

He does roll the 4th line and their bottom pairing more than a lot of other coaches in this league and that 4th line sure responded.

I would like to see Cappy be replaced with a more experienced NHL coach but until Snow or the owner is willing to do so, as fans we can only point out the areas he need to improve and hope he is willing to try. Fans and even the media has no bearing on the business decisions of the owners unless no one is willing to show up at the game. Next year will be interesting as I think if the team slides and not make playoff without a very good excuse, both Snow and Cappy will be gone.

I hope so. But again, it blows that our only hope of getting a better coach is for the team to fail. Something really bothers me about that. Some GMs can project failure and make a change earlier than that, but Snow is not that smart, or perhaps, cares more about feeding his friends than caring for the club.

 

[LetsGoIslanders]

You have every right to your opinion dlawong, obviously. However, I had to weigh in on your positives, particularly the bolded one because it simply isn't true. Jack regularly burns out Tavares and the top line by giving them crazy shift lengths regularly. I routinely posted about JT and his 1:30 to 2:00 shifts, let alone all the 1:00 long shifts he has in between. Instead of a Positive it is a 100% negative. Also I wanted to point out that most of the rest of his positives are the players like him. That's not much of a positive, and it really is his only positive. That means Aunt B would bring as much to the coaching table as he does. It is time to move on from this cheap placeholder.

That's on John. I've never seen Cappy call for a line change and then make motions that JT was to stay on. Tavares overstays his shifts, this has been documented. In the balance, it's better to have a player so invested than one that isn't. If Tavares catches a bad minus from staying on too long. I guess Tavares needs to play grocery stick for half a period. However, it's hard when he's still your #1C.

 

[Hip Of Rick*]

Snow has high standards. One of the all time great GMs brings back one of the all time great coaches!

 

[A Pointed Stick]

That's on John. I've never seen Cappy call for a line change and then make motions that JT was to stay on. Tavares overstays his shifts, this has been documented. In the balance, it's better to have a player so invested than one that isn't. If Tavares catches a bad minus from staying on too long. I guess Tavares needs to play grocery stick for half a period. However, it's hard when he's still your #1C.

It is easily corrected. You bench him. Big egos bruise easily. Or you keep him out for 5 minutes to teach him not to do that again.

 

[ScaredStreit]

When we drafted Tavares the 2nd pick was Tampa.

Tampa has since:

Been to the SCFs
Been to the ECFs three times
Destroyed us in the playoffs this year


We have:

Won ONE playoff series

We need to raise our standards and stop accepting mediocrity.

 

[periferal]

When we drafted Tavares the 2nd pick was Tampa.

Tampa has since:

Been to the SCFs
Been to the ECFs three times
Destroyed us in the playoffs this year


We have:

Won ONE playoff series

We need to raise our standards and stop accepting mediocrity.

I hope you're not suggesting the reason for Tampa's success since the 2009 draft is because they have Hedman over Tavares.

 

[PK Cronin]

When we drafted Tavares the 2nd pick was Tampa.

Tampa has since:

Been to the SCFs
Been to the ECFs three times
Destroyed us in the playoffs this year


We have:

Won ONE playoff series

We need to raise our standards and stop accepting mediocrity.

Didn't they also have Lecavalier, St. Louis, and some guy named Stamkos at that time?

Two different starting points. The Lightning weren't in the bottomless pit our organization was in.

I hope you're not suggesting the reason for Tampa's success since the 2009 draft is because they have Hedman over Tavares.

I think he's attempting to say, "They've gotten better and had success, we haven't and we got the better player in that draft!"...or something along those lines.

 

[Abe Vukota]

When we drafted Tavares the 2nd pick was Tampa.

Tampa has since:

Been to the SCFs
Been to the ECFs three times
Destroyed us in the playoffs this year


We have:

Won ONE playoff series

We need to raise our standards and stop accepting mediocrity.

We all know Stamkos is a pipe dream because the team is only going to spend so much to improve. I think there's a good chance we start the season with a team salary that is actually a smaller % of the cap than last year. Okpsoso's gone (2.8), Martin's gone (1), Halak's gone (4.5), Grabo's LTIR (5); I'm not convinced that all or most of that $14 million will be spent on the team. Assuming Frans gets $2 million more than he was making, that's still $12 million to spend, and it doesn't take into account the additional $5 million we are from this year's cap (so maybe 7 or 8 million from next year's, according to this: https://www.nhl.com/news/bettman-salary-cap-could-rise-3-million-in-2016-17/c-791523).

Best of all, with Hamonic's great deal balancing out Boychuk's bad deal, we have a solid top six locked in for a few years at a reasonable price/percentage of the cap. We should be looking at two star wingers, or one pretty good winger and one more superstar. Trade for Eberle and sign Stamkos. Let's ****ing win something.

Oh, and, you know, since this is the coaches thread, maybe we could take a hard look there, too?

 

[periferal]

We all know Stamkos is a pipe dream because the team is only going to spend so much to improve. I think there's a good chance we start the season with a team salary that is actually a smaller % of the cap than last year. Okpsoso's gone (2.8), Martin's gone (1), Halak's gone (4.5), Grabo's LTIR (5); I'm not convinced that all or most of that $14 million will be spent on the team. Assuming Frans gets $2 million more than he was making, that's still $12 million to spend, and it doesn't take into account the additional $5 million we are from this year's cap (so maybe 7 or 8 million from next year's, according to this: https://www.nhl.com/news/bettman-salary-cap-could-rise-3-million-in-2016-17/c-791523).

Best of all, with Hamonic's great deal balancing out Boychuk's bad deal, we have a solid top six locked in for a few years at a reasonable price/percentage of the cap. We should be looking at two star wingers, or one pretty good winger and one more superstar. Trade for Eberle and sign Stamkos. Let's ****ing win something.

Oh, and, you know, since this is the coaches thread, maybe we could take a hard look there, too?

In regards to the BOLDED...I've never agreed with you more.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

Ok, so read this:

Hitchcock makes adjustments, wins

Then ask yourself, "Is it possible our coaching staff could have done the same (or better)?"


That's all some of us are getting at.