Waived: Lafontaine

[bluechipbonzo]

Now we know it wasn't JUST Wang...Lafontaine confirmed OUT in Buffalo, power struggle (again) per Elliot Friedman, Hockey Night pre-game show...

Click to read more...

 

[SI90]

was coming to post this...


Hes following his playing career. Isles to Buffalo and the next stop is the rags...


He has to have the2 shortest tenures sports executive positions in history.

 

[bluechipbonzo]

was coming to post this...


Hes following his playing career. Isles to Buffalo and the next stop is the rags...


He has to have the2 shortest tenures sports executive positions in history.

Just wanted out and back to family or wanted to re-sign Miller and wasn't sold on Nolan...?

 

[A Pointed Stick]

Nolan...

I will not be surprised to find out Ted had something to do with this.

 

[scott99]

I really wanted Pat Lafontaine to be a part of the Islander's ownership when there were rumors that he was going to be in a group of investors. But these recent stints with the Isles and Sabres have me wonder about his stability business/leadership wise.

 

[doublechili]

I read something saying it could have to do with Patty wanting Nolan to be extended and Murray being unwilling to do so.

 

[xECK29x]

It really sounds like he doesn't get along with anyone and wants to call every shot and when he does he takes too much time, so much so GMs were not allowing coaches to be interviewed by him.

Sounds like bad news unless hes an owner, but he seems to be a micro manager, but is that ok because hes NOT Wang?

 

[RichOnTheLI]

I really wanted Pat Lafontaine to be a part of the Islander's ownership when there were rumors that he was going to be in a group of investors. But these recent stints with the Isles and Sabres have me wonder about his stability business/leadership wise.

I was just thinking the same thing.

LaFontaine and his European investors wanted to buy the team and keep them here, which sounded great. Now, I'm starting to think that it could of been a shady deal.

 

[DaMick]

He has to have the2 shortest tenures sports executive positions in history.

Troubling fact to the say the least.

Might Patty be really be power hungry and ownership shuts him down both times?

all ive read was that he was against the Miller trade...and left because of it.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/01/sabres-announce-pat-lafontaine-resigns-as-president-of-hockey-operations/

 

[Isles Junkie]

Wang & LaFontaine need to kiss & make up. they don't need to hire him, but he has to be part of the Islanders family again. i mean he shouldn't be banned from our pregame jumbotron videos and stuff like that. Especially considering next year is the last in Nassau & I'm sure they will do some special nights & bring back alumni. it would be a shame if one of the franchises best players wasn't there because of some hissy fit with the owner.

 

[12Dog]

Wang & LaFontaine need to kiss & make up. they don't need to hire him, but he has to be part of the Islanders family again. i mean he shouldn't be banned from our pregame jumbotron videos and stuff like that. Especially considering next year is the last in Nassau & I'm sure they will do some special nights & bring back alumni. it would be a shame if one of the franchises best players wasn't there because of some hissy fit with the owner.

Seems the owner gives too much loyalty and takes grudges too far. Both it would seem to this outsider with undo merit.

 

[Levi Walking Bear]

Once you get on Wang's bleep list, you are on it for life.

 

[CREW99AW]

Seems the owner gives too much loyalty and takes grudges too far. Both it would seem to this outsider with undo merit.

Neil Smith agreed to Wang's wacky , gm by committee job offer, after Lombardi andTambellini said pass. Then after taking the job, Smith tried seizing more control. Wang fired him..
Lafontaine tried talking Wang out of firing Smith. When Wang refused to keep Smith, Lafontaine quit.

I blame a desperate Smith for that PR mess, although Wang and the isles were the ones who ended up getting ridiculed. Wang expected loyalty from Lafontaine and did not get it.

I do not much care about the PL/Wang feud. Both come across looking bad.

 

[lazycop]

While this does raise a red flag as far as LaFontaine's capacity to play nice with others, the fact of the matter is the Isles are a dysfunctional organization as long as Wang owns the team. He hasn't felt 'right' to me as an owner since the day he bought the team. The guy had a rather large agenda(The Lighthouse) and it's debatable now how much he actually ever cared about the product on the ice(not much, in my opinion). I think LaFontaine leaving the organization had as much to do with Wang as him. I think Wang is probably VERY difficult to deal with behind the scenes. As much as I'm dying to see a perenially winning team, I'd be just as happy to see an ownership change to someone who hired REAL hockey people around him, put $$$ into the roster, and let them run things. And, yes, it would be nice to get LaFontaine back with the club in some capacity, just not on any sort of management level.

 

[CREW99AW]

While this does raise a red flag as far as LaFontaine's capacity to play nice with others, the fact of the matter is the Isles are a dysfunctional organization as long as Wang owns the team. He hasn't felt 'right' to me as an owner since the day he bought the team. The guy had a rather large agenda(The Lighthouse) and it's debatable now how much he actually ever cared about the product on the ice(not much, in my opinion). I think LaFontaine leaving the organization had as much to do with Wang as him. I think Wang is probably VERY difficult to deal with behind the scenes. As much as I'm dying to see a perenially winning team, I'd be just as happy to see an ownership change to someone who hired REAL hockey people around him, put $$$ into the roster, and let them run things. And, yes, it would be nice to get LaFontaine back with the club in some capacity, just not on any sort of management level.

The Wang bashing would hold more credibility ,if we were not watching Lafontaine pick up his toys and marching out the door, with a 2nd organization. I guess the Sabres owner must also be very difficult behind the scenes too?

I don't want PL back in ths isles organization. I could not care less about his feud with Wang.

 

[zman]

This whole scenario with the Sabres is beyond bizarre. So many conflicting stories. I will say that he is very much on the record as liking Buffalo from his playing days until now. I don't think this has anything to do with him wanting out of the region. His son is playing for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres and recently committed to Canisius College- a D-1 hockey program. Canisius will be moving to the Harbor Center next season.. It's a new $172M hockey and entertainment complex right next door to First Niagara Center. Pegula is building it and will be a crown jewel of USA hockey (already a bunch of events are booked). So anyway, i think this abrupt departure is due to something internal going terribly wrong, not Patty wanting to get back to NHL/NYC. Maybe he really is a micro-managing power monger or maybe he hired a GM in Murray who wanted to make moves (and got approval) above Pat. Who knows, but based on his history with the Isles and now this...i think Pat looks bad all around.

 

[Dutch Frost]

I dont get Lafontaine? How could you be against the Ryan Miller deal? You got to think long term for the organization and Miller wasnt staying.

there has to be more to this

 

[CREW99AW]

I dont get Lafontaine? How could you be against the Ryan Miller deal? You got to think long term for the organization and Miller wasnt staying.

there has to be more to this

I read a tweet that Lafontaine was told he would have final say in all hockey decisions, when he was hired.

Now the new gm comes in and trades Miller against PL's wishes.

 

[doublechili]

I read a tweet that Lafontaine was told he would have final say in all hockey decisions, when he was hired.

Now the new gm comes in and trades Miller against PL's wishes.

The Sabres should have set up some kind of management committee. I'm sure Patty would've been okay with that.

 

[BTrotts19]

Wang & LaFontaine need to kiss & make up. they don't need to hire him, but he has to be part of the Islanders family again. i mean he shouldn't be banned from our pregame jumbotron videos and stuff like that. Especially considering next year is the last in Nassau & I'm sure they will do some special nights & bring back alumni. it would be a shame if one of the franchises best players wasn't there because of some hissy fit with the owner.

I've always said if I won the billion dollar lotto and I bought the team, I would bring in Patty to lead up the effort to right the Wang ship. Who knows what he is like behind closed doors but bringing in Nolan has worked out so far and that new GM seems to be pretty good. Hoping to find out first hand at some point soon

 

[thegoldenyear]

PF's exit strategy's always rankled. Some isolated justification notwithstanding, he's a quitter.

Some of us still remember: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/26/s...rt-over-by-trading-lafontaine-and-sutter.html

 

[A Pointed Stick]

PF's exit strategy's always rankled. Some isolated justification notwithstanding, he's a quitter.

Some of us still remember: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/26/s...rt-over-by-trading-lafontaine-and-sutter.html

Pickett let the team rot after the cup runs. I don't blame LaFontaine for his opinion. Instead, you should be concerned that Tavares will get fed up with Wang's BS just like Patty did with Pickett.

 

[ScaredStreit]

When he was first hired I heard Lafontaine say that his job was basically to find a new GM/Head Coach....and he did just that (and did a great job at doing so btw).

 

[thegoldenyear]

Pickett let the team rot after the cup runs. I don't blame LaFontaine for his opinion. Instead, you should be concerned that Tavares will get fed up with Wang's BS just like Patty did with Pickett.

I can't argue that, Pointed. As his exposure to other league stars in better situations grows, JT's youthful idealism will fade.

To the Patty issue, really just noting the extreme measures he takes whenever his partners let him down. He can't be the only guy to have workplace conflicts.

 

[CREW99AW]

Pickett let the team rot after the cup runs. I don't blame LaFontaine for his opinion. Instead, you should be concerned that Tavares will get fed up with Wang's BS just like Patty did with Pickett.

Pointed, do you agree that the Barclays lease puts pressure on Wang/Snow?

The lease has a stipulation that Wang could see his lease payments( millions of dollars) reduced, under certain conditions.

I don't understand how anyone can say they expect the same situation in Brooklyn, that we have had on LI. The same lack of accountibilty.

Heck, we are not even in Brooklyn and I think we are seeing the effects of the Brooklyn lease and the Barclays group influence: Newsday says Cappy's job is in jeopardy and that Wang felt the 2012-2013 playoff appearance was a year behind schedule.