Islanders not looking to fire coach, looking for big trade

At the New York Islanders home game on Monday night, a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, there was less fan anger than fan apathy. “Fire Cappy!” chants were loud enough to pierce the quiet air in Brooklyn, but didn’t have many fans joining the chorus.

But the chants were there, as they’ve been there all season. And that has to be a concern for Jon Ledecky, the Islanders’ new co-owner, who proclaimed at last summer’s changeover of power that the fans’ happiness is paramount.

“If the fans aren’t happy, they aren’t going to come. Successful franchises have this connection with their fan base. They listen and they try to make improvements. They don’t pay lip service,” he said.

This is no doubt awkward for him when the fans are asking for his coach’s head, but no more awkward than it is for GM Garth Snow. It’s his hire, his guy, his coach that he’s put his faith in for several seasons, with Capuano on and off the hot seat.

And so he’s given him a vote of confidence, via 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.”

When asked pointedly whether that meant that Capuano, the fourth longest-tenured coach in the NHL, would continue to have a long leash, Snow did not give an affirmative but his answer seemed to provide a solid vote of confidence.

“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.”

Bob McKenzie had the same sense:

“I’m not sure what’ll happen, if anything, on the Island. I don’t think Garth Snow has any intention whatsoever of making a coaching change at this time. And I don’t think, and I say I don’t think – again, this is not based on inside information by any stretch. There’s a new owner on the Island – Jon Ledecky. He came in and obviously gave the entire organization his blessing by keeping all of the people on it. He didn’t make any radical changes when he took over from Charles Wang.”

So if ‘Cappy’ isn’t the guy to go, who does?

Arthur Staple of Newsday believes that the Islanders are angling to make a trade to shake them out of this middling (5-8-3, 13 points) start.

One assumes this is the first step for Snow in attempting to salvage the season. Capuano has been vocal about the goals that walked out the door with Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen, and that’s a signal to management that more has to be done to replace them.

The next step, one assumes, is figuring out the goaltending situation, as no one in that Hydra is bailing out the team like they did last season.

I still think there’s a better than good chance Capuano doesn’t make it through the season. But I also think Snow is probably going the trade route before getting to that point with his guy.

One last thing: I’ve never really understood the dynamic between Capuano and Snow, at least philosophically. The general manager appears to want to build a leaner, more offensive team. We’ve seen that in his drafting, and we’ve seen that in his player acquisition. Capuano coaches a heavier, more bludgeoning style.

There’s always been a disconnect on paper between the team Snow wants and the team Capuano coaches, in the sense that I’d expect to see Cal Clutterbuck getting top-line minutes on the latter but not the former. But Capuano’s been there a long time. Clearly Snow likes something about that dichotomy.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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