Ted Nolan

Have you checked out anything in the Canadian media about Ted Nolan and how the Rick DiPietro hip injury has gone down? Well, it seems that media types are speculating that the Islanders "may fire" Ted Nolan after the way he "handled the Rick DiPietro situation".

One thing about being home with the flu is that you have a lot of time on your hands--even more that I do at work--so you can check all this stuff out. I was told that this firing speculation even was discussed on SNY and on NHL Live.

I mean, do I even have to write this? Is it even worth discussing? The Islanders simply cannot fire Ted Nolan after a season ravaged by injuries. It just wouldn't make any sense; no matter whether or not Ranger Beotch Larry Brooks says that Nolan is whining in print on the players not performing as well as they can.

What kind of message do you send to potential free agents and the rest of the NHL if you fire a guy who is very popular with his players and the fans? If you're trying to sell a family atmosphere to players to make Long Island an attractive place to play, all of that gets pissed down the toilet if you let the coach go. You then give license to those detractors who want to say that the team is run haphazardly and lacks stability.

By the way, shouldn't Ted Nolan be pissed off when the team performs badly? Shouldn't the coach want to light a fire under the players? Bottom line, the coach gets paid to win. He shouldn't be cheerleading the team to lay down just so they can improve their chances at drafting Steven Stamkos in June. He gets judged on wins and losses; not on tanking and quitting.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I pray it doesn't happen. There were strides made organization-wise this season even though there won't be any playoffs this year. By firing the coach, you destroy the good will you've built up. As we've seen in the league this year, a team's fortunes can change greatly from one year to the next. Firing the coach at this point simply makes no sense.