Sansided
Eyes On Isles
Home/Islanders All Time Lists

New York Islanders Ranking Every Single Coach

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - APRIL 3: Head coach Lou Lamoriello of the New Jersey Devils gives instructions during the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Continental Airlines Arena April 3, 2007 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - APRIL 3: Head coach Lou Lamoriello of the New Jersey Devils gives instructions during the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Continental Airlines Arena April 3, 2007 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 9
Next
New York Islanders
NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 19: Doug Weight of the New York Islanders handles his first game as head coach against the Dallas Stars at the Barclays Center on January 19, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

(5) Steve Stirling

From 1994 to 2006 the New York Islanders had eight different Head Coaches. That type of turnaround perfectly summed up the Islanders at the time; incredibly unstable.

From 2003 to 2006 the Islanders head coach was Steve Stirling. Stirling was brought in from the Norfolk Admirals. Again, another coach with no NHL experience at the time.

Stirling was brought in to replace Peter Laviolette after his two seasons of playoff hockey. Stirling would continue the trend for one more year, but just like Laviolette’s teams, the Isles would be bounced in the first round.

It almost as if roster construction was to blame rather than coaching.

In total Stirling was with the Islanders for 118 games. He was let go in the middle of his second season as the Islanders headed for the first year without playoff hockey in four seasons.

His .521 win percentage ranks fifth highest in the team’s history.

(6) Doug Weight

Doug Weight ranks sixth on our list for a few reasons. All of them boil down to his inability to adapt to the reality around him. It took Doug almost two weeks to change a defensive system that was routinely allowing 50 shots against a night.

And even when Doug was able to limit the number of shots the Islanders gave up they still couldn’t win.

Doug might have pushed the Islanders from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to a single point from the playoffs with a 24-12-4 record in 2016-17. But his stock was sinking like a stone. The Islanders would miss the playoffs by 17 points in the following season.

The Isles bled shots, couldn’t hold leads, could defend on the penalty kill, and just looked like an absolute mess. Worst of all, his defensive tactics absolutely ruined a fantastic offensive year out of his team.

With 264 goals for the New York Islanders finished with the eight best offensive record in the league. But under Doug, they also ranked last in terms of goals against. Allowing an incredible 296.

His .541 looks great, but it’s significantly propped up by that half season where the Isles were the hottest team in the league.

facebooktwitterreddit