Scott Gordon's Swagger gone

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/04/2009 10:45:00 AM |
Scott Gordon had his press conference and talked about winning the Stanley Cup, he took some media aback with his comments at the time.

He had so much confidence and swagger to how he carried himself, it seemed like the coaching change would solve all problems.

Shortly afterward we read and learned about overspeed.

He then went into camp and was reportedly showing everyone how it's done on ice, including his new/holdover assistants.

He told us anyone can play this system at any age and that it helps slower players get to the puck faster, it was impressive.

He spoke about camp (groin) injuries only happening to players who were here last season, then first round pick Josh Bailey got hurt.

DiPietro sat on the bench in games and never played, the coach gave his reasons and talked about his philosophy that goalies finish what they started, then we looked at his record in Providence and saw otherwise.

We also saw some obvious blunders like Fritz not allowed to defend Nielsen and a lot of big leads blown in games, this was after reading about how good his teams played on defense in Providence and that goaltenders would like his system.

We saw the numbers of shots allowed/players injured rise dramatically and finally the bubble broke a period short of five hundred against Pittsburgh.

The freefall began and it was about as dramatic as it can be.

Brendan Witt spoke up against his system and talked about Scott Gordon having to make adjustments sooner or later. Gordon responded to Brendan Witt but the swagger had faded.

Scott Gordon adjusted his system at some point which he spoke about the other day.

Now I watch games and he looks like a far different coach then what I saw earlier, no swagger, no reaction far too often. He did hit back at the media according to Greg Logan but still we have no idea what specific reporter or publication.

One or two times after games the coach would give long answers to where he simply drifted from the question, on occasion we saw a sense of humor from the coach also.

I wonder if this has been a good learning experience for him or if it will be an asset for him as a coach moving forward or something that hurt his abilities?

Players like Weight-Guerin have praised him in print for how he has handled things, it seemed more like frustration with regard to Yann Danis earlier like this was someone he could freely speak up about.

The media and fans picked right up on it also and wondered how come the coach was hard on this player. We finally saw a mild tweak on Campoli the other day by the coach.

Bottom line Scott Gordon's the head coach of the New York Islanders, I'm a fan writing a blog.

I see Okposo on left point and wonder along with why Park, Jackman, Hilbert and Thompson are on the ice at critical moments. I have been wondering all year why Comeau was sent down because I see exactly the same player I saw a year ago.

I could be wrong, the career records are on my side and this coach has had a lot of injuries to work around.

I'm not sure I like Scott Gordon as an NHL coach, part of that is I felt the man he replaced was part of the long-term answer for a lot of reasons that were about perception of his ability.

I go back to ITV and listen to Ted Nolan's press conferences all the time, I want to see the differences.

I'm hoping Scott Gordon can win me over to what he is trying to do. It does seem the swagger he had when he took the job is now a memory along with some adjustments to his system.

How many adjustments does a coach make before the reasons you hired him are no longer an asset?

I also have looked at how many times John Anderson, a winner in Chicago has handled a tough season with Atlanta where he has been critical of his players on several occasions.

As I wrote last week this has to be the longest season of Scott Gordon's life behind that bench with all these injuries and losing.

I only hope Scott Gordon remembers what made him a successful coach, combine that with his experiences this year and be a better coach for it in the long run.






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