In their first move of the offseason, the New York Islanders officially named Doug Weight as head coach of the team.
In a move that brings little surprise to many, Doug Weight was officially named head coach of the New York Islanders. The Islanders removed the interim title after Weight led the last place team on an impressive run.
Weight amassed a 24-12-4 record, compared to Jack Capuano’s 17-17-8 record in the first stretch of the season. The Islanders nearly made the playoffs.
The decision was nearly unanimous, especially after the team’s locker clean-out interviews when they stated their interest in bringing Weight on-board.
"I'm honored to be named Head Coach of such an historic franchise with one of the most passionate fan bases."
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— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 12, 2017
There are two sides to the coin when discussing this decision.
Despite the Islanders finding a great fit behind the bench, a move like this almost guarantees that there won’t be a replacement for the team’s 11-year general manager Garth Snow.
Fans clamoring to see Snow’s removal should read between the lines in the latest on the GM’s security. Additionally, this move appears to have kick-started an offseason of owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin finally pulling the trigger on improving their team in their first offseason with full control.
With Dougie behind the bench, will his supporting cast get the same vote of confidence? Or will there be more internal shifts? With the powerplay finishing 28th overall, a shakeup is undoubtedly needed in that department.
With Weight now named head coach, the Islanders will need to find a suitable candidate to lift the offensive figures on the not-so-special specialty teams.
So with one significant move down, what is likely next for the duo of Ledecky and Malkin? We’ll probably find out soon with the offseason now underway.
