The New York Islanders are the latest NHL team to move on from a head coach midseason, firing Jack Capuano after a disappointing first half of the season.
Islanders fire head coach Jack Capuano after disappointing first half of the season
Doug Weight will serve as interim coach.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
The Islanders made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon, just a day after New York won a 4-0 shutout in Boston. Assistant coach and former Islanders player Doug Weight will become the interim head coach, likely until the offseason.
Capuano took over as interim Islanders head coach in 2010 before earning the full-time gig the next summer. In the next six seasons, New York bounced around from playoff participants (2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16) to Atlantic and Metropolitan Division bottom-dwellers (fifth in the Atlantic twice and eighth in the Metro once).
However, Capuano led the Islanders to the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. Expectations were high again this year despite his teams never advancing farther than the second round.
But the Islanders stumbled out of the 2016-17 gates and never quite recovered. New York went 8-10-4 in the first two months as the rest of the Metropolitan left them in the dust. They’ve followed a 7-5-2 December with just two wins in January.
Capuano and Islanders GM Garth Snow were close, so it’s no surprise that the Islanders’ press release includes gratitude from both ex-coach and the general manager. Here’s Capuano:
“It’s an honor to have served this historic franchise and its passionate fans,” Capuano said. “I’d like to thank Garth and our ownership group for the opportunity to be the Head Coach of the Islanders. I’d also like to recognize our coaching staff, training staff and players for all of their hard work.”
Jack Capuano’s 227 wins in in 487 games behind the bench make him the second-most successful Islanders coach behind Al Arbour.
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