Scott Gordon named coach of the Islanders

....and I am super-pleased with the hire. Now that Garth Snow has the guy in charge that he wants, the rebuilding of the franchise can actually begin. No more Band-aids and no more splints. This is going to be a team that grows together as we move forward.

Many outlets are reporting that assistant coaches John Chabot and Gerard Gallant have been retained. This late in the game--training camp is only weeks away--it's probably for the best to give the guys at least some sense of stability after a strange and tumultuous summer.

Plus, you know, we can find out if Gallant and Chabot will thrive working with a boss who will listen to their suggestions. (Zing!)

With Gordon, the Isles are getting the reigning coach of the year from the AHL and a guy who proved valuable in developing players for the Bruins. My friends who are big Bruins fans loved the fact that over the past few years, if a kid was called up to Boston from Providence that that player was ready to go and knew his role walking into the Garden. That, my dear readers, is preparedness and leadership. If you're going to try and develop the kids you better get a guy who is known for being a good communicator and teacher and has had some experience and success doing just that. The young Islanders will know what is expected of them and what their roles are on the team with Scott Gordon as the head coach.

Many people knee-jerked--myself included--when Ted Nolan was fired; thinking that the next Islanders coach had to have some Stanley Cup pedigree. The more I thought about it, the more and more I was against hiring a guy like John Tortorella or Bob Hartley. Stanly Cup winning coaches are used to Winning Now and may not have the patience needed to start building the family from scratch. A seasoned and successful communicator with a resume of having developed players is what was truly needed...and in Scott Gordon, that is who we got.