Marc Crawford has spent 13 seasons behind the bench as an NHL head coach. He got his start in 1994-95 with the Quebec Nordiques. As a 33 year old, he led Quebec to a 30-13-5 record and the following season he led the Colorado Avalanche to the Stanley Cup with young stars such at Peter Forsberg-22, Sandis Ozolinsh-23, Owen Nolan-23, Joe Sakic-26 and Adam Deadmarsh-20. He has a career record of 470-361-103-53, with a winning percentage of .555. Marc finished last season with Los Angeles at 32-42-7 and grabbing 71 points. The Kings are somewhat similar to what the Islanders have this year, except maybe not as young, and not as much veteran presence...OK so maybe they're nothing alike? Crawford is one of my top choices, with Hartley edging him out. I like Crawford's experience and at 46 he is still a young enough coach to stick around through the tough parts of a rebuild and the reap the benefits of the homegrown talent.
Gerard Gallant has coached part of 3 seasons in the NHL, all in Columbus. He last coached in 2006-07, and lasted only 15 games, going 5-9-1. His best and only full year was the 05-06 season. Gallant an the Blue Jackets went 35-43-4 for 74 points. I am really not sold on Gallant as being a good fit for the Isles. He is relatively young, turning 45 in September, but his track record is abysmal. Give me the spot. I was 13-4 coaching Bethpage High School back in 2000-01. I know he dealt with a lot of drama over in Ohio, especially with Zheredev, but it just seemed he was over-run by the kids. Rick Nash wasn't living up to his potential and Gallant didn't seem to do much to help mold him into the stud he was last season. Maybe I just want a big name, or maybe I'm right and Gallant isn't the fit.
Former Atlanta Thrasher and Colorado Avalanche coach Bob Hartley is a top candidate of mine. While he was ousted after just 6 games in Atlanta last season, losing all 6, Hartley is a Stanley Cup winner. In 2000-01, he led the Avs to a 52-16-10 record, piling up 118 points. This Avalanche team had youngsters such as Chris Drury (24) and Alex Tanguay (21), as well as a mix of seasoned vets. Also worth noting, Bob's Avalanche finished in first place the first five seasons he coached there. He has amassed 329 wins in 10 seasons as an NHL head coach.
I really like Hartley. After a game, he was asked what he thought Marion Hossa and Marion Gaborik were doing when seen before a game in the hallway...Hartley's response was, "Probably talking about back-checking." How great is that! Bob worked well with the youth in Atlanta as well, but the Isles lack a top-3 pure goal scorer like Kovalchuk. He did manage to get Atlanta to the playoffs with extremely shaky goaltending as well. I think Hartley tops my list
Paul Maurice began coaching when he was only 29 years old in Hartford...for the Whale. In that 1995-96 season, he had 5 players who were older or the same age as him on the team. That season ended in disappointment, as the team could only muster 66 points on 29 wins. Maurice's best years would be ahead of him in Carolina and his first year in Toronto. In the 01-02 season he led the 'Canes to 91 points on 35 wins, and in 06-07, took Toronto to 91 points on 40. Last season was a disappointment for sure, but I wouldn't exactly put it on Maurice. The Leafs were just awful. He could thank JFJ for that.
I wouldn't mind a young coach in this case, he's still only 41, because of the amount of experience and respect he garners. The Maple Leafs just didn't perform last season and it cost Maurice his job. Maybe that works to the Islanders benefit?
Joel Quenneville has been a successful NHL coach for the past 11 seasons. Over that time, Joel has led his teams to a record of 438-283-77-41, which is a .592 winning percentage. Joel started back in 1996-97 in St. Louis, finishing that season with an 18-15-7 record. His best year was by far the 1999-00 campaign in which he led the Blues to an amazing 114 points, going 51-19-11. The past two seasons in Colorado, Quenneville has lead the Avs to identical records of 44-31-7...that's pretty strange on its own.
Mike Sullivan coached the Boston Bruins to a combined record of 70-56-15-23 in his 2 seasons there(03-04 and 05-06). His first year was the best of the two, going 41-19-15-7 for 104 points. That team included youngsters such as Patrice Bergeron, then 18 and Joe Thornton, who was then 24. Mike hasn't worked in the NHL since the 2005-06 season. I'm not looking for a coach who has very little experience to come along and take the job when we need an established coach to get things headed in the right direction, right? Right.
50 year old John Tortorella has been a head coach in New York before...for 4 games. With the Rangers at the end of the 1999-2000 season, Torts went 0-3-1 for one point. I was probably very upset for John and the Rangers, but he got on his feel again and won a Stanley Cup in 2003-04 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team which was lead by some youth, such as then 23 year old Brad Richards and Vinny Lecavalier. In his 8 years as an NHL head coach, he has compiled a record of 239-225-37-38.
Last season was difficult for Tampa and finished with the Lightning having 71 points and a record of 31-42-9. Despite his struggles last year, I think Tortorella could be a good candidate to help mold the future of the Islanders. He was there to help mold Vinny into the superstar he is now in Tampa and helped develop Brad Richards into the elite center he is as well. Maybe Torts could light a fire under a certain Jeff Tambellini and the kid will kick it into overdrive...finally? Eeeeeeehhhhhh!
The final candidate on my list is 34 year old Chuck Weber. Chuck has no NHL experience, but has had pretty good success with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. In his first 2 years being a head coach he compile records of 37-29-6, followed with an outstanding 52-12-5 record. I don't really know much about Chuck, and to be honest, i don't want him here. I am not being rude or mean, but i would think most Islanders fans would agree that we want a coach with NHL experience to help mold the youth, not develop along with them.
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