Ted Nolan

[pucksakes666]

How come no teams ever hire him? He won coach of the year before on an awful 90's sabers team. He did good coaching Latvia at the olympics. He usually gets good results but how come no teams ever come calling for him? I mean hes better than the same coaches that always get recycled.

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[Bonzo111]

How come no teams ever hire him? He won coach of the year before on an awful 90's Sabres team. He did good coaching Latvia at the olympics. He usually gets good results but how come no teams ever come calling for him? I mean hes better than the same coaches that always get recycled.

too handsome

 

[MikeK]

I remember reading a few articles that claimed he'd basically been blacklisted from the league. I won't comment on why because the rumors are easily found once you start looking. If there is any truth to those rumors than it's no surprise he's done in the NHL. No team would want that headache.

 

[DickSmehlik]

He tends not to get a long with his GMs and this is well known.

It is too bad, he is excellent with young players and I think can still coach in this league.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I remember reading a few articles that claimed he'd basically been blacklisted from the league. I won't comment on why because the rumors are easily found once you start looking. If there is any truth to those rumors than it's no surprise he's done in the NHL. No team would want that headache.

I mean a lot of it just came from the horses mouth. Not sure if that would constitute Libel.

But more or less, he is absolutely LOVED in the dressing room, but hated by management.
He can unite a locker-room often by turning on management and making management "the enemy".

Us vs Them.

I've worked for managers and leaders like that, and what tends to happen, is you do your best work for them, but are actively seeking newer opportunities.


This is conjecture on my part:
But imagine if he straight up tells a player:
"Management told me to reduce your minutes, and give you mostly defensive zone starts so your next contract negotiation will be more favorable. f*** that, lets see if we can get you 20 goals".

 

[Sens With Benefits]

I've heard rumours of black listing as well. But from what I understand is that he's a players coach only. He's great at getting the most out of his players and getting them going but as far as the system and x's and o's he's not great. That may be holding him back.

 

[MikeK]

I mean a lot of it just came from the horses mouth. Not sure if that would constitute Libel.

But more or less, he is absolutely LOVED in the dressing room, but hated by management.
He can unite a locker-room often by turning on management and making management "the enemy".

Us vs Them.

I've worked for managers and leaders like that, and what tends to happen, is you do your best work for them, but are actively seeking newer opportunities.

Which is why I didn't mention the claim... but with rumors like this it's likely enough of a rumor to help keep teams away. There is a reason he hasn't been around the game. He's a talented couch. We see worse coaches in the game today with worse attitudes so there has to be something to these rumors.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Which is why I didn't mention the claim... but with rumors like this it's likely enough of a rumor to help keep teams away. There is a reason he hasn't been around the game. He's a talented couch. We see worse coaches in the game today with worse attitudes so there has to be something to these rumors.

How is it rumor?

It's well reported that he frequently goes against management wishes:
Buffalo Sabres fire coach Ted Nolan: Expected, unfair

Irrepairable rift with John Muckler is well reported on (pre-internet)

 

[GeeoffBrown]

That Sabres core was a perennial playoff team and they had the best goalie of all time in the pipes. So, I don't believe they were awful

 

[pucksakes666]

He is better than lots of ex players that try coaching after only being away for a years.

 

[MikeK]

How is it rumor?

It's well reported that he frequently goes against management wishes:
Buffalo Sabres fire coach Ted Nolan: Expected, unfair

I don't think you and I are talking about the same thing.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I don't think you and I are talking about the same thing.

Well, if you're commenting on racism, I can't say much, but there's definitely a club, and he most certainly isn't a part of it.

His argument is that coaches like Torts keeps getting jobs, but the key difference is that Torts doesn't sandbag his management everywhere he goes. If anything, Torts probably has great relationship with all of the managers he's been hired by.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It’s not just blacklisting. There was a period of time when that might have been true at some level — at least that people looked badly on him for how things went down in Buffalo. But that was 20 years ago... almost everyone who was in coaching or management at the time is gone.

The fact is, he’s been a coach for 2 NHL teams over 4 seasons since that time and his record is 114-155-38. You can argue that it’s not his fault, but not a whole lot of coaches get to continue when the best of their 6 seasons in the league saw them win 40 games with one playoff series win.

You can keep getting opportunities if you’re flat-out successful, or if you’re cozy with ownership. But being unsuccessful AND difficult to manage... nah.

 

[MikeK]

Well, if you're commenting on racism, I can't say much, but there's definitely a club, and he most certainly isn't a part of it.

His argument is that coaches like Torts keeps getting jobs, but the key difference is that Torts doesn't sandbag his management everywhere he goes. If anything, Torts probably has great relationship with all of the managers he's been hired by.

No, I'm not talking about racism. Instead of assuming why not just do what I suggested in my first post and do a little digging as to why he's no longer in the game? Then you might be able to understand why he's likely not given another chance. Rumor or not it's likely what has kept him out of the game because no team would want that headache in the room.

 

[Thorton02]

Absolutely no structure or system from Nolan. He's a good motivator but the game has passed him by.

 

[koyvoo]

Peak Hasek would’ve made many coaches look good tbh.

 

[TheFinalWord]

I remember hearing an interview with some former GM (can't remember who) that said they interviewed him for the coaching job, but that he was very unprepared for the interview. That may have been a one-off or may have been a consistent theme. But I would imagine GM's don't want a potential headache, and would look elsewhere for that reason alone.

 

[ScaredStreit]

That Sabres core was a perennial playoff team and they had the best goalie of all time in the pipes. So, I don't believe they were awful

The only reason why they were a perennial playoff team was due to said goaltender.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Because he's a god-awful coach. He's an excellent motivator, but trying hard doesn't lead to good results if you have no clue what you're trying to do.

 

[DFC]

Didn't he coach the Isles for a minute too?

The black list seems to be real in his case.

 

[izzy]

Because he's a god-awful coach. He's an excellent motivator, but trying hard doesn't lead to good results if you have no clue what you're trying to do.

ridiculous, you are going by what he could bring out of that horrible buffalo roster

the guy won the championship in the ohl 3/6 seasons he coached and lost in the finals once.

hes never come into a good situation in the nhl.

 

[JTToilinginToronto]

Didn't he coach the Isles for a minute too?

The black list seems to be real in his case.

He did. He got a pretty limited Islanders team into the playoffs. I remember him as a good coach here.

 

[BHD]

Because he's a god-awful coach. He's an excellent motivator, but trying hard doesn't lead to good results if you have no clue what you're trying to do.

Is this true for early days with the Sabres? Because people tend to get carried away when talking about that period.

 

[HisIceness]

Didn't he coach the Isles for a minute too?

The black list seems to be real in his case.

Got them in the playoffs on the last day of the first season IIRC, and then the team imploded the next season and he was fired.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Is this true for early days with the Sabres? Because people tend to get carried away when talking about that period.

I don't really know, I was ~10 at the time, and what I remember about those 90s Sabres teams is definitely not the coaching lol.