Cirque d'Isles

Funny how this kind of thing rarely happens with good teams.

Funny how it's always bad teams -- poorly constructed, poorly run -- that
end up running into philosophical differences with their coaches, general
managers, trainers and towel boys. Guess it's always harder to get along
when you're a bottom-feeder.

On Monday, Islanders GM Garth Snow and coach Ted Nolan decided to part ways
because of "philosophical differences." It turned one of the NHL's great
feel-good stories from two seasons ago into just another power struggle,
leaving the erstwhile coach and Snow more than a little soiled and making
the team the butt of jokes around the hockey world -- again.

"Cirque d'Isles," one NHL executive quipped to ESPN.com on Monday.

Remember when Nolan made Snow, the former backup netminder thrust awkwardly
into the GM role by bizarro owner Charles Wang, look like a genius in the
waning seconds of the 2006-07 season? With backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz
(now playing in Europe) playing the hero, the ragtag Islanders defeated the
New Jersey Devils on the final afternoon of the regular season in a shootout
and stole the final Eastern Conference playoff berth from the Toronto Maple
Leafs. It mattered little that the Isles were then dispatched in five games
by Buffalo.

Nolan, who was brought into the organization from exile, proved he remained
a master motivator and coach with NHL smarts. He took an Islanders club most
assumed would be a lottery team and made it competitive. The Isles played
hard most nights and were well-prepared. Nolan got more out of the bunch of
castoffs and leftovers than anyone had a right to expect. Snow, to his
credit, saw the Isles had created a long-absent buzz and went out and
acquired Ryan Smyth at the 2007 trade deadline while keeping some of his
veterans. It cost him some future picks, but it was a bold move for a team
that had been long on bored and short on bold for a long time.

Last season, no one gave the Islanders much of a chance again, but they
earned more respect, for whatever that's worth. But the bloom was off the
rose for Snow and Nolan, who warred over how the team should be run.
Injuries and simple logic (the Islanders aren't a very good team) caught up
with them, and the Isles finished 13th in the Eastern Conference with 79
points, 13 fewer than the previous season. They finished 23rd in goals
allowed per game and dead last in goals per game. Not a good recipe for
advancement.

For some odd reason -- and let's hope it's not Snow just sticking it to
Nolan -- it took the Islanders GM three full months to figure out he didn't
want Nolan back behind the bench.
This will do little to dispel the long-held notion that Nolan is difficult
to deal with. He was coach of the year in 1997 in Buffalo, but a feud with
then-GM John Muckler exploded and cost both men their jobs. Nolan was out of
the game for nine years before the Isles opened the door. Whatever the truth
is of this nasty little piece of business, it no doubt will give other GMs
pause when considering Nolan even though the on-ice results were impressive.

As for the Islanders, they are now looking for their seventh coach since
Wang took over ownership in 2000 after Butch Goring, Lorne Henning (interim
head coach after Goring was fired), Peter Laviolette, Steve Stirling, Brad
Shaw and Nolan failed to pass muster. Snow represents the third GM over that
period of time, following Mike Milbury and Neil Smith, who were brushed
aside in pursuit of . well, what we're not exactly sure.

Snow said Monday that he will immediately begin looking for Nolan's
replacement. One assumes he'll be making a call to his old buddy and former
Stanley Cup-winning coach Bob Hartley, who might be able to replicate
Nolan's success at getting blood from the proverbial hockey stone. One thing
seems certain: Snow will need to find someone who isn't afraid to coach the
kids; that was reportedly the tipping point for Snow, who didn't see eye to
eye with Nolan on using the Isles' youngsters. And whomever Snow tabs, it'd
better be someone prepared for some tough times before things improve.

One wonders whether Snow waited this long to dismiss Nolan so potential free
agents wouldn't be put off by the notion that the team was in disarray.
Given that Snow managed to lure only defensively challenged defenseman Mark
Streit, with a whopper contract, and fading Doug Weight to the fold, it
appears he need not have worried.

Scott Burnside is the NHL writer for ESPN.com.