New York Islanders: Doug Weight Probably Won’t Keep His Job

Doug Weight has seemingly lost control of his team. The New York Islanders, even when they were on the cusp of breaking back into the playoff conversation, look flat and, at times, uninspired. That falls directly on the head coach.

I’m a Doug Weight fan. When he took over the New York Islanders last season and took them within a point of a postseason berth, me and nearly everyone who follows this team loved the hire and the tough, hard-working mantra he brought to the Islanders.

When the Isles began this season on fire and were within arms reach of the top of the Metro Division, fans and pundits alike were hailing Weight as an early favorite for the Jack Adams Award (Gerard Gallant of Vegas has that one all but locked up now).

As the team began to falter in December, no one, myself included, questioned Weight’s ability to motivate his team. As injuries mounted and stalwarts hit rough patches, most of us were confident that Doug Weight was not the one to blame for the downturn.

Things go from bad to worse for Weight and the Islanders

As the freefall continued, we began to see a different side of New York Islanders head coach Doug Weight. He was always a fiery guy, even in his playing days (even more so). But the competitive fire that was initially a rallying cry began to turn into a darker, more cynical, storm that was brewing.

Once things went from bad to worse, the form Weight took was shocking. He began calling out his players by name, publicly. He began getting shorter and more curt with the media, including team media members like the LEGEND Stan Fischler and someone well on her way to becoming a legend herself, Shannon Hogan.

Next: An Open Letter To Fans Who Blame JT

As we’ve seen in the past, losing games is one way to eventually lose one’s job as head coach of the Islanders. But when you combine losing with unapproachability (and from time to time downright rudeness) to the media, as we’ve seen in the cases of a handful of recent Isles head coaches (not tough to list them but I won’t here), you’re done.