After being out of the hockey limelight for some time, Neil Smith and Ted Nolan are expected to return to the NHL. E.J. Hradek has confirmed multiple reports out of Canada that the New York Islanders will hire former Rangers general manager Neil Smith as their new general manager and former Sabres coach Ted Nolan as their new head coach. The team has scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday to make “a major hockey announcement.” Covering the Stanley Cup finals as an analyst for OLN, Smith denied the story and would not comment further.
It is truly bizarre that Ted Nolan hasn’t had a coaching job since he did a pretty nice job with the Buffalo Sabres. I’m not sure what the reason was for the league blackball he received, but there is no other explanation for it. Far worse (or less successful, anyway) coaches have been rehired several times since then. Heck, he was Coach of the Year right before he was fired!
But Neil Smith? Is this the same Neil Smith who had a seemingly unlimited budget with the Rangers and won one (1) Stanley Cup (mostly thanks to my guy, Mike Keenan — they had the same team the next year and stunk it up)? The Islanders, of all teams, should have been able to look over the shoulders at Neil Smith’s “leadership” and know they shouldn’t bring it to their organization. The good news is that if the Panthers or Wild make any boneheaded signings that don’t work out for them, Neil Smith is back in the league to take their hefty price tags from them at the trading deadline.
Lastly, is the NHL the only major sports league that allows such a press conference to be made during its league championship? Why would they want to take interest away from the two teams that are battling it out for the most coveted trophy in the history of sports? Nice job, NHL.
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