Ted Nolan

[chooch*]

Any chances left?

Was he to blame; or Hasek; or his being Native/ an outsider?

If he was a good ole Kingston boy kissing cherrys butt....

Coudl he take over from Quinn?

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[Buffaloed]

There's a fairly recent thread about this on the Sabres board.
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=131224

 

[Leaf Lander]

Any chances left?

Was he to blame; or Hasek; or his being Native/ an outsider?

If he was a good ole Kingston boy kissing cherrys butt....

Coudl he take over from Quinn?

yes he will lead leafs to cups while quinn will be gn after fletcher doesn cut it in torotno

its Fate!

 

[Malefic74]

He has himself to blame for an awful lot of it. He's had shots at head coaching gigs elsewhere, he won't coach in the AHL despite offers and is uninterested in being an assistant to anyone else.

As for Toronto, I personally think he'd be an awful fit there. It's been shown that he has a hard time dealing with stars and their egos because he can't seem to suppress his own. That won't fly in Leafland IMO.

 

[Badger Bob]

Yep, pride definitely got in Ted Tolan's way. He could have gone back to coach in the OHL to showcase his coaching abilities. Respectable NHL offers would've come his way. The claims of racism were just ridiculous. Even worse was that some media-types (including a now-retired sports page editor) picked up on it, and uncritically speculated on the unfounded rumors, as though there was some basis in fact. Nolan, in fact, was a very popular coach.

No matter how people perceive what John Muckler did, or didn't, accomplish during his time in Edmonton, he is respected around the league. So, although that doesn't necessarily mean Nolan was blackballed, that one messy instance contributed to a reputation (deserved or not) that he could be a GM-killer.

A long time ago, a fan wrote a letter to the Sport Editor of the Buffalo News. The fan astutely noted that every player, who was identified as being loyal to Ted Nolan, was eventually moved out. Pat LaFontaine, Matthew Barnaby, Bob Boughner and Brad May were among them. Michael Peca might have fit the profile, but he stayed on until financial issues forced him out too.

 

[chooch*]

Some classy executive will give him a chance a gain; once you win Coach of the Year you should not be coaching in the OHL or the AHL. Are you kidding?

Gretzky or Lemiuex should hire him.

 

[blamebettman*]

coach of the year, big friggin deal. Nolan was not a difference maker, they were carried by Hasek. In a weak division they were slightly above average. How Nolan has handled himself since probably means he'll never get another chance.

 

[Leaf Lander]

maturity comes in time

 

[Badger Bob]

once you win Coach of the Year you should not be coaching in the OHL or the AHL. Are you kidding?

It beats the hell out of coaching First Nations bantams.

 

[chooch*]

It beats the hell out of coaching First Nations bantams.

Its a pride thing. I admire Nolan for not going back to the minors and helping his coummunity instead.

Name me another Coach of the Year in the NHL who coaches in the minors or juniors?

 

[reckoning]

A long time ago, a fan wrote a letter to the Sport Editor of the Buffalo News. The fan astutely noted that every player, who was identified as being loyal to Ted Nolan, was eventually moved out. Pat LaFontaine, Matthew Barnaby, Bob Boughner and Brad May were among them. Michael Peca might have fit the profile, but he stayed on until financial issues forced him out too.

I don`t buy that conspiracy theory; LaFontaine was thought to be finished due to concussion problems, and the rest of those guys weren`t exactly untouchables. I also don`t buy that he was blackballed; maybe someone can confirm this, but wasn`t Calgary once all set to hire him only to have him make a horrible impression at the final interview? There have been dozens of instances of coaches and GM`s not getting along; none of those guys got blackballed.
I have nothing against Nolan, but having Coach of the Year on your resume is pretty meaningless in the NHL- where`s Bill Barber or Bob Francis today?
Early in the next season, Hasek (who had been painted as the villian in the situation) was receiving a lot of heat from the fans. A few shutouts later, all was forgotten.

 

[Badger Bob]

To call it a conspiracy theory would imply that there was something illegal about it, which there wasn't. The question then becomes, "does it make sense?" Some of the replacements (Rhett Warrener and Stu Barnes) were former Florida Panthers, who were familiar to Lindy Ruff. Granted, they would go on to play valuable roles with the team, but it adds credence to what the fan wrote. Wouldn't most coaches feel more comfortable with players they know?

Incidentally, retirement for Pat Lafontaine was recommended by team doctors. Another opinion cleared him, as he'd made clear his intentions to continue his playing career. The Sabres organization hoped he'd retire for financial reasons. He scored on Hasek in his first return to Buffalo. The cheering in HSBC was louder than for most goals by Sabres.

 

[Snap Wilson]

I can't remember who first said this, but it's a common axiom in baseball among coaches: Ten guys will like you, ten will hate you, and ten will be undecided. Good coaching is keeping the ten who hate you away from the undecided.

Nolan's firing was a big deal and clearly caused some locker room strife. I don't think that it's conspiratorial that Muckler moved the expendable guys who were loyal to the old coach to clear that out. It was probably a pretty smart idea, actually.

 

[Badger Bob]

I can't remember who first said this, but it's a common axiom in baseball among coaches: Ten guys will like you, ten will hate you, and ten will be undecided. Good coaching is keeping the ten who hate you away from the undecided.

Nolan's firing was a big deal and clearly caused some locker room strife. I don't think that it's conspiratorial that Muckler moved the expendable guys who were loyal to the old coach to clear that out. It was probably a pretty smart idea, actually.

Regier was actually GM by that time, but an excellent analogy nevertheless.

 

[Snap Wilson]

Regier was actually GM by that time, but an excellent analogy nevertheless.

Oops.

 

[jiggs 10]

The fact that Nolan was having "relations" with a player's WIFE probably didn't help his cause in Buffalo, nor did the fact that MOST sane people realize that Hasek was the reason the Sabres even got as far as they did. After Nolan was gone, they did even BETTER, don't forget! Nolan's refusal to take any job that isn't an NHL job means he will never get another head coaching job outside of bantams. And why should he? He's been gone 7 or 8 years already. What next? Don Cherry comes out of retirement?