Nolan denies Moncton rumours
Former Wildcats head coach focused on making New York Islanders an NHL contender
Ted Nolan wants to set the record straight.
He insists there's no truth to the persistent rumour that he will be back next season as head coach of the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His focus is on the National Hockey League and his job as head coach of the New York Islanders.
"I have one more year (on my contract with the Islanders) and I plan on coming back and fulfilling my obligations here," he said. "I'm not too sure where the Moncton rumours started.
"I have the upmost respect for Mr. Irving (Wildcats owner Robert Irving) and if there was a place to go back to certainly Moncton would be at the top of my list. But Danny Flynn is working there, he's going to rebuild that team and good luck to them. Danny is working there and I'm working here."
Flynn has three seasons remaining on his four-year contract as Moncton's head coach and director of hockey operations. He and Nolan are long-time friends who have worked together with the Wildcats, Islanders and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League.
Nolan was the head coach when Moncton captured the QMJHL championship in 2005-06 and advanced to the Memorial Cup final. Shortly after that season, he signed a three-year contract with the Islanders.
"I went there as an employee of the Moncton Wildcats, but I really felt I left there as a friend of Mr. Irving and his family," said Nolan. "We've stayed in touch. To me, one of the best things about going to Moncton was the fact I made a great friend in Mr. Irving.
"He was in New York about a month ago and we went to lunch. Maybe someone heard about that and the assumptions and rumours got started there. There's been no discussion about me coming back to Moncton or anything like that."
In Nolan's first season in New York in 2006-07, all the experts predicted the Islanders would finish near the bottom of the NHL and they wound up middle of the pack. They earned the final playoff spot on the last day of the regular season and then lost to the heavily favoured Buffalo Sabres in the opening round.
This season, the Islanders dropped to 13th in the 15-team Eastern Conference at 35-38-9 and finished 15 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot. The good news is they own the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NHL draft.
"We were in a playoff position midway through the season," said Nolan. "Then in January the flu bug hit us hard. We had a two-week period where we only had about eight players on the ice practising. They didn't have enough energy to practise, but they got through games.
"Then the injuries started. From early January until the end of the season, we had anywhere from five to 12 players out of the lineup. We lost our No. 1 goaltender, five regular defencemen and three of our top six forwards to injury. That was too much to overcome."
Nolan has mixed feelings when he reflects on this season. He was disappointed with his team's inconsistent play, but proud of some players who showed the courage to keep suiting up despite injuries.
He and Islanders general manager Garth Snow will speak to fans about their plans for the future direction of the club during a function tomorrow night. They will also answer questions.
"When you go through a season you evaluate the people you have and see what kind of improvements you need to make for the following season," said Nolan. "Some of the greatest lessons in life are through defeat.
"We were defeated this season and if we don't learn anything from it then we won't make ourselves better. Winning a championship is what it's all about and you're always trying to figure out what it takes to get to that level. You evaluate what you have. You look at other teams and what they have and why they are where they are."
Nolan offered his NHL playoff predictions.
"In the Eastern Conference, I like the Rangers," he said. "Then you look at Montreal and how well they're playing. Then you look at Pittsburgh and the guys they have. I think one of these three teams will come out of the east. It's a stab in the dark.
"I think San Jose will come out of the Western Conference. They're my pick to win the Stanley Cup."
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