The New York Islanders made it official today, naming Doug Weight the full-time head coach and shedding the interim title from his job description.
And you can’t blame general manager Garth Snow from going with Weight, since the organization is keeping the status quo in the front office. Weight took the last place Islanders and went 24-12-4 over the final 40 games, just missing the playoffs by one point.
“Doug has earned this opportunity from the tremendous work he has put in over the past five seasons in our front office and especially from the time he took over as interim head coach earlier this season,” President and General Manager Garth Snow said in statement. “His leadership and experiences from both playing and behind the bench are valuable intangibles that not every coach can translate into a winning formula. He’s gained the trust and respect from our entire team, making him the best choice to become head coach.”
The Islanders were lifeless when coach Jack Capuano was let go on Jan. 19. It was clear they stopped listening to him from the beginning of the season and the only question was why Snow waited so long to make the change.
Weight made the most of his time behind the bench and the record speaks for itself, since there were no major roster moves by Snow to invigorate the team. That’s probably the reason why there was no coaching search at the end of the season.
Weight was the man and frankly was groomed for this since he retired from playing back in 2011, when he was named assistant head coach and senior advisor to Snow.
“I’m honored to be named head coach of such an historic franchise with one of the most passionate fan-bases in the NHL ,” Weight said. “There is a deep history of winning with the Islanders and I look forward to doing everything in my power to return to the playoffs and have success.”
Now, Weight will have a full season to see if he can continue his magic.
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