Snow: Islanders had no plans to retain Capuano after this season
NHL coaching hopefuls, dust off your resumes.
After the New York Islanders fired head coach Jack Capuano on Tuesday, general manager Garth Snow told media the decision stemmed from the fact that New York had no plans to bring Capuano - in the final year of his contract - back next season:
Snow: 'Organizationally, we knew Jack wasn't going to be back. We wanted to move forward now with our search for a new coach' #Isles
— Andy Graziano (@AndyGraz_SNY) January 17, 2017
Snow also confirmed the search for a new head coach will begin immediately.
The Islanders currently sit last in the Eastern Conference with a 17-18-8 record. Assistant coach Doug Weight has been named the club's interim head coach.
Does Garth Snow think his job as #Isles GM is safe? "I don’t even worry about that."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) January 17, 2017
"I don't know that Jack fell short of expectations," Snow added. "When you're a coach in this league, sometimes you're a victim of different circumstances."
Snow: "We need to turn this ship around and I really have a lot of confidence in our coaching staff and in our players." #Isles
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) January 17, 2017
Capuano - the league's fourth-longest tenured head coach at the time of his firing - had been behind the Islanders' bench since 2010-11, accumulating a 227-193-64 combined record.
Last season, he led the Islanders to their first playoff series win since 1993.