Islanders & NHL News: Two ex-Islanders coaches fired, players reflect on poor season
Gratuitous Capuano photo, or an editorially responsible approach to depict Greg Cronin? | Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images
Also: The Islanders players digest the season, and maybe one day we’ll hear from management, too. Yesterday was a crazy busy day in the NHL as two entertaining playoff series kicked off while two coaches were fired.
Meanwhile, back home the Isles had their breakup day though you only heard from players, not the GM or coach. Will we hear from them today? In a week? A month? Don’t know.
Back in 2023, Lou Lamoriello took a month after the season before finally talking nothing-isms to media, explaining that on cleanout day his “focus wasn’t on answering questions,” because he had a lot of “questions of his own” he wanted answers to. Glad he figured all those out!
I really don’t want to piss and moan about management every day, and I promised the other day I wouldn’t keep comparing him to Doug Armstrong, but come on: it’s 2025. Act like you give a shit.
See, here’s the deal with pro sports today as an expensive entertainment product: You need to deliver a good team, yes, but in seasons where you cannot or do not deliver a good team — understanding that 31 are battling you to do so — you sure as hell better be entertaining. So if you charge $55 for parking and $17 for a beer while also exercising passive (at best) disdain for media or fans who would like to know more about your thought process and plans for change...then you deserve every library-quiet, empty-seats evening you get. And you deserve to have people calling for your firing even if you did win some Cups a quarter-century ago.
Islanders News
Media were allowed to speak with players, including injured ones (but not Anthony Duclair, who maybe wasn’t there or maybe just wasn’t available — it’s not your business to know). Mat Barzal says he was working to get back for playoffs, Semyon Varlamov said he had a knee procedure and hopes to be back and ready for camp. Mike Reilly was frustrated with the lack of opportunities down the stretch. Other players said the team lost its identity, but I don’t know what that identity is these days (and maybe that was the point). [Newsday]
VIDEO LINKS: For posterity’s sake, here are links to video of cleanout interviews with: Mat Barzal on his injury-shortened season | Anders Lee | Simon Holmstrom | Max Tsyplakov | Tony DeAngelo | Alex Romanov | Mike Reilly (including his disappointment on not getting games down the stretch) | Semyon Varlamov (writeup here)
Lots of open questions. [Post] Tony DeAngelo, Noah Dobson, Alex Roanov, Max Tsyplakov, of course would like to stay.
Varlamov talked about his rehab, and a healthy (and competent) return would certainly alter the equation for the Isles. [THN]
Elsewhere
The opening night of the playoffs did not disappoint. The Blues and Jets played a back-and-forth Game 1 before Winnipeg pulled away late in the third, followed by some bad-blood antics (including some shadiness from Mark Scheifele that could lead to a violent series). Then the Avalanche pulled away in the third period of a tight game to prevail, 5-1 over the Stars.
Today features a trio of games, with Carolina-New Jersey being the appetizer before the Battle of Ontario kicks off and then the Wild begin their series in Vegas. Think the easy picks for those series are Hurricanes, Leafs and Knights but maybe the Senators pull off a surprise.
Meanwhile, two former Islanders coaches were fired: Peter Laviolette was let go, no surprise there, in Manhattan. I’m sure that’ll fix it! [NHL] And Greg Cronin was “thanked for his tireless work and dedication” while being fired by the Ducks. [Athletic]
Brad Marchand is trying to be his same pain-in-the-ass self in a new environment. [NHL]
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