Despite the “fire Cappy” chants and the fans upheavel, New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano seems safe.
It has simply been one disaster after another for the New York Islanders. After winning their first round of the playoffs last season, the club was expected to take steps forward in 2016-2017.In short, they have done the exact opposite.
Head coach Jack Capuano and company are struggling to find any sort of feasible offense from the team, and the defense that was working well is now injured. With the fans getting restless General Manager Garth Snow has yet to make any indication of fixing his hockey club.
Capuano Safe Amid Chants
Despite growing chants of “Fire Cappy” at the Barclays Center, GM Garth Snow has spoken out in his support for the NHL’s 4th longest tenured coach. According to TSN:
“Hey, it’s part of the business,” Snow said. “We’re in it to win. And when the team isn’t successful, I think any team in the league that happens.”
“Jack is an excellent coach,” Snow said. “We have good players. I love our coaching staff. In fact, last time I checked, he coached in the World Cup and there were some pretty good coaching staffs.”
So, in terms of making a coaching change during Snow’s tenure, it seems that’s that.
Undoubtedly, both Snow and Capuano have to be on the hot seat. Their team is regressing hard after taking very promising steps just about six months ago.
Where Art Thou, Ledecky?
The new owners have given a lot of reason to be hopeful for the team’s future. Ledecky is at every Islanders home game and even at some road games. Add that to some promising, erm, promises once they took majority ownership of the team (“fifth ring,” “world class organization”) and you have a lot of reason to be faithful.
But the new owners have been silent thus far. Some believe they are more concerned with matters larger than the team (moving them to Queens, a new arena, opt-out clause in Barclays lease). Some believe they lied through their teeth and just don’t care.
But there is one thing that is prevalent and that is a very restless fanbase that demands answers. Even a press conference lasting an hour would suffice. The silence since the atrocity began has been more deafening than the fans outcry for change.
With Cappy Safe, Snow Searches For Change
During yesterday’s GM meeting in Toronto, it was reported that Garth Snow was searching for offense. Arthur Staple speculated that the Islanders are eyeballing Matt Duchene, the subsequent pick after Tavares in 2009.
Mentioned Matt Duchene in my story today as a possibility, but his concussion may squash that talk. #Isles would have to give to get…
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) November 16, 2016
Obtaining a solid second line center of Duchene’s skill would be a huge asset for this team. The Islanders never truly replaced Frans Nielsen and they are realizing that they miss him dearly early on. He would be the Malkin to Tavares and would alleviate a lot of pressure on JT having two superstars. Duchene would surely get specialty team work and would be a valuable offensive asset for this team.
With the announcement that Capuano is safe, Snow must turn to the market to change his team. The unofficial deadline to be in playoff contention is in one week, arguably until the end of November. The clock is ticking away and the “Fire Cappy” chants are getting louder every second gone without action.
Your move, Garth.
