Last week, after a loss to the Florida Panthers at Nassau
Coliseum, a game punctuated by fans chanting "Mike Must Go,"
Isles GM and Coach Mike Milbury said his team looked like it had
"quit."
"There's no excuse for that," Milbury said. "That was a stinker
without much sign of effort. We're going to do something about
it."
So he did.
For the second time in less than two years, Milbury resigned as
head coach of the Islanders to concentrate on his role as general
manager and head quipmaster. The Isles have the second-worst
record in the National Hockey League and last earned a postseason
berth in 1994.
Assistant coach Bill Stewart, 41, a former NHL defenseman, was
named as his replacement about three hours before the Islanders
met the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"It's obvious," Milbury said, "things didn't go very well. When
things don't go very well, changes have to be made. I thought the
message I received from the players last night was a pretty
strong one and not a good one. There didn't seem to be passion.
There didn't seem to be discipline. [When a] team quits on the
coach, it's an awfully tough thing to get them back."
Milbury was given a three-year contract extension last summer and
has more than four years left on a contract at $750,000 a season,
said he informed the players at the team hotel at 4 p.m. "I
didn't get applause for it, but they might do that later."
"Obviously," Islanders captain Trevor Linden said, "we feel
responsible. It's a tough situation for Mike. It's a tough
situation for us."
Milbury had done well in Boston, leading the Bruins to the 1990
Cup Finals. But it turned out to be too hard to repeat that
success in Uniondale, where Milbury didn't have the option of
sending out Ray Bourque and Cam Neely when things got tough.
(Sadly, the tandem of Barry Richter and Steve Webb didn't inspire
the same leadership.)
Milbury was hired as coach of the Islanders in July 1995. He
took over as GM several months later when Don Maloney was fired.
When John Spano took control of the Islanders before it was
discovered he had less money than your average bum, he convinced
Milbury to step down as coach and hand the reigns over to the
Worst Coach in NHL History (TM), Rick Bowness. Milbury fired
Bowness after a 10-game losing streak last season, and reports
were that he planned to step down after the year was over and
hire a new coach. But new owners Steven Gluckstern and
Howard Milstein convinced Milbury to hire an army of 417
assistant coaches (or seven, it's hard to tell) to help handle
the load. Milbury stayed on as coach.
However, despite an 8-8 start for the Isles in 1998-99, they soon
slumped. There was a seven-game losing streak in late November
and early December, and then an 0-10-1 streak in January. On the
day he stepped down, Milbury's team was 13-29-3 this season.
Milbury was 57-111-24 in parts of four seasons with the
Islanders.
The players had lost respect for Milbury the coach, and his
habits of favoring and rejecting certain players for curious and
unknown reasons. They also said he shifted his lines too often
with little consistency. Captain Linden, when asked to describe
Stewart, said: "He runs a good bench."
Though Milbury has come under fire of late, especially in his
role of general manager after his recent trade of Bryan Berard to
the Toronto Maple Leafs for goalie Felix Potvin, he said it had
nothing to do with his decision. He said he understood the
derisive chants.
"Our fans are tired of losing," he said. "I understand that. No
one is more tired of losing than I am."
"To look at Mike as the scapegoat would be easy," Islanders
defenseman Scott Lachance said. Linden added, "We, as players,
are responsible. But, for whatever reason, the message was not
getting to us."
Though several of the assistant coaches were potential
replacements, including associate coach Lorne Henning, Milbury
said the obvious choice was Stewart.
Known as "Stewie," Stewart has a history of winning. He led the
St. John's Flames, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, to a
43-24-13 record and a berth in the Calder Cup Final last season.
He received the Louis Pieri Award as the Coach of the Year. He
led a Canadian junior team, the Oshawa Generals, to a 41-18-7
mark and the Ontario Hockey League championship in 1996-97. He
was Colonial League Coach of the Year in 1995-96.
Ownership News
Should Howard Milstein succeed in his bid to buy the Washington
Redskins of the National Football League, his stake in the Isles
will be purchased by his brother Edward.
The Board Of Governors approved the potential sale to Edward
Milstein at its All-Star Game break meeting. The move was
necessary because Howard Milstein, who is waiting for approval
from the NFL to complete his $800 million purchase of the
Redskins, must sell all or part of his Islanders share under the
NFL's cross-ownership rules.
Edward Milstein is also a prospective minority owner of the
Redskins, so he would need permission from the NFL to own both a
small share of the Redskins and a 45 percent stake in the
Islanders.
Arena News
Talks continue on a new arena for the Islanders. All reports
seem to indicate that a final deal may be announced in the next
few weeks.
