Garth Snow's Painful Elimination of the Day!

OK, so it wasn't a surprise but overall, it still sucks.

Take a look at the potshots the Isles are taking on ESPN.com and The Hockey News. I know it is lazy journalism to just kick the shot horse because it is an easy target, but it still pisses me off.

The one good thing that you can say about this whole Snow-Nolan marriage is that the general manager ripped the Band-Aid off quickly and dumped the coach before training camp.

And yet, you had the team's prospects skating through practices run by Nolan's assistants yesterday. How weird do you think that was for the kids yesterday? Welcome to the team! You should maybe listen to this guy who is telling you what to do...or maybe you shouldn't! Who knows how long he is going to be here?

I have a message for all of the guys at the Islanders rookie camp: just try to get through the week.

Now, presumably, Garth Snow has to turn his attention to getting a coach for these precious young players. Speculation is that he will look to interview noted taskmaster Bob Hartley; loquacious and combative John Tortorella; and deposed Leaflander Paul Maurice. There are probably going to be other candidates that I will have to assign adjectives to, but for right now, those three are a good start. Whether or not any of those guys would want to hitch a ride to the Goodship Lollipop is another separate matter.

Let's not forget about Nolan. Just a year ago, the guy was being hailed as a genius who was doing his darndest to restore Islander pride. In his three years with the Islanders, Nolan led the team to a record of 75-68-21; which is pretty incredible considering the players he had to work with. The fact is that Ted Nolan was able to conjure magic out of the guys he had on the roster and the Islanders made 2 it to two playoff appearances that they really had no reason to expect before each season began. Let's also remember that the team was right there in the proverbial thick of things until the avalanche of injuries hit the team in February and March.

See, right there, something doesn't feel right. Nolan really was into his second chance. He arranged the Al Arbour 1500 game and did a lot to try and resolve the disconnect between Islander alumni and the organization. And then, almost as quickly, the whole thing crapped out.


Who do we blame? Where can we point the finger? Did Nolan just throw his hands up over how things were being run? Did he just give up? Does Garth Snow really hate Ted Nolan?

These are valid questions, people! And you know what? Because the organization is in lock-down full-control of how information gets out there, we may never actually know. We may never know.

The only thing for sure is that the Isles are light years away from becoming a contender. Light years. They're officially the dumping ground for older players looking to hang on and cash in one more time before setting off for the rest of their "real" lives. And it totally sucks.

Oh--and this is not exactly going to eradicate those pesky rumors that Nolan is a difficult GM-killer. Still, the guy has proven himself capable of pulling rabbits out of his hat so all bets are that he will find another job in the league.

They may as well put a huge tent around the Coliseum this afternoon because the circus is most definitely in town...and that sucks too.