Garth Snow is entering his third season as Islanders GM and last night he finally picked his first head coach.
After parting ways with Ted Nolan on July 14, Snow hired former Providence Bruins head coach Scott Gordon, who won AHL Coach of the Year honors last season. He will be introduced today at a press conference at Nassau Coliseum.
It’s a bit of a risk for Snow, who inherited Nolan when he took over the GM spot after Neil Smith resigned two years ago. Snow chose the 45-year-old Gordon, who has no NHL coaching experience, over more seasoned options like Paul Maurice, Bob Hartley and John Tortorella, all of whom were available.
Snow said during a conference call last night that he was unconcerned with Gordon’s lack of experience.
“He’s the right coach for this team,” said Snow, who first met Gordon over two decades ago, when both were in training camp with the Quebec Nordiques. “He’s got tremendous credentials from the AHL and the [ECHL]. He fits our plan of developing young players.”
That’s something that Snow and Nolan clashed over, as the GM wants to build through youth, despite the presence of older players such as Mike Sillinger, Bill Guerin and the recently signed Doug Weight.
But it’s Gordon’s success with Providence that likely got him the job, as Snow wants to see players like Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau develop. Gordon spent the last six seasons as the Providence head coach, leading the team to a 55-18-7 record last season.
“Scott stood out as being a great communicator,” Snow said. “He’ll provide structure and discipline.”
So now it really is Snow’s team and he’s left it in the hands of a former goalie at Boston College, who was on the 1992 U.S. Olympic squad.
And the philosophical differences that helped lead to Nolan’s departure should be a thing of the past.
“I entered this process with an open mind,” Snow said. “He’s got a great hockey mind. He’s going to hold people accountable and inspire the team.”
He’ll have his work cut out for him, taking over a team that missed the playoffs last season and hasn’t brought in any major free agents this off-season.
“You look at what Scott did at Providence and you don’t have that kind of success without patience,” Snow said. “He’s a great teacher.”