9 pm: What? Okay, now NESN is saying that Tim Thomas wants to return to hockey and want to be back in the NHL?
So.... As the Isles own his rights and he did not show up this past season, they could toll his contract and make sure that if he wants to play in the NHL, he has to play for the Isles. However, last week Art Staple said that the Isles would not do that. Then again, last week, did they know that Thomas wanted to play again? Better question; can he?
If this is what the beginning of June is like, I can't imagine what it will be like in July!
9 am: There has been little to write about in the NY hockey market for an Islanders fringe writer. Nothing of real substance that is. Nothing that has actually come out of the Isles head office or an official release. But there have certainly been convsation starters on Twitter. First the "Jack Capuano being courted as head coach of UMaine," which was laughable at best. Then the McKenzie "Luongo for DiPietro" rumor that must have made Gary Bettman's skin crawl had he heard it. Now the "Doug Weight possible NYR head coach" conversation started by -- Larry Brooks? Really? http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/blueshirts_weighing_weight_gMLpJWt80sU3QlN6b2GNBI
I sort of ignored that one because again, it's laughable. But I was pretty surprised it was a Larry Brooks conversation started in the NY Post. At least he did get a text back from the GM that was more than cordial. “Hypotheticals are a waste of time.”
Considering the abuse Brooks took from John Tortorella, any response below an eff u is a good thing.
But Seriously -- Would Glen Sather really put the fate of his club in the hands of an unproven coach? Is that the Ranger way? I love Doug Weight and am very impressed with what he has accomplished in his short time behind the bench, but it has been minimal in the grand scheme of things. So to think an unproven NHL coach could be put in charge of the most financially successful NHL team in the East seems just -- silly.
If Sather and company was really going to put an newbie behind the bench I would venture to guess it would be Mark Messier. Hasn’t he been groomed for this since his retirement? Even the idea of The Great One coaching again doesn’t sit well with me. He wasn’t horrible, but he wasn’t a winner either.
No, as much as I may dislike the Rangers, they will need a proven NHL head coach in that organization. There are many out of work right now, so it should be ‘easy pickins’ as they say. And they have only a few weeks to do it in if as they said, one would be in place by the June 30th draft.
It just ain’t gonna be our Dougie
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