Ted Nolan
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Ted Nolan (Born - April 7, 1958, on the Garden River Ojibwa First Nation Reserve outside of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada) is the Head Coach of the New York Islanders.
Nolan, a retired Canadian professional hockey Left Winger played 3 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. He also coached for 2 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Buffalo Sabres, after serving as assistant coach for one season with the Hartford Whalers.
Nolan, and his wife Sandra, are parents of Brandon Nolan a Vancouver Canucks draft pick playing for the ECHL's Columbia Inferno, and Jordan Nolan of the OHL's Erie Otters.
Playing Career
As a player, he played left-wing for the Ontario Hockey Association's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the Kansas City Red Wings of the Central Hockey League, and the Adirondack Red Wings, Rochester Americans and Baltimore Skipjacks of the American Hockey League. He also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League from the early through to the mid-1980s.Coaching Career
Ontario Hockey League
Nolan became head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1988, as a mid-season replacement and coached there until the end of the 1994 season. Nolan led the Greyhounds to the three consecutive Memorial Cup tournament berths, winning the Canadian national junior championship in 1993.Buffalo Sabres, 1995-1997
Nolan was hired before the 1994-95 NHL season as an assistant coach by the Hartford Whalers for one season before accepting the position of head coach of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres where he had his best success. In his second season in Buffalo, he led the team to a strong regular season, culminating in the Northeast Division title. He was rewarded with the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach.However his relationships with superstar goaltender Dominik Hasek and general manager John Muckler were strained, with Hasek actually stating in an interview during 1997 NHL Awards Ceremony that "it would be better for me if he (Nolan) did not return". Muckler, fresh off of being voted the NHL's 1996-97 Executive of the Year, was the first casualty of this toxic situation and was fired prior to the 1997-98 season. Darcy Regier, Muckler's replacement as GM, was given the option to choose his own coach. Rather than fire Nolan, whose two-year contract had just expired, Regier offered him a one-year extension. After such a successful 1997 season working with what was widely considered sub-par talent (Hasek aside), Nolan found the offer insulting and rejected it.
Post-Sabres career
Following his departure from Buffalo, Nolan was offered NHL coaching jobs in 1997 by the Tampa Bay Lightning (head coach) and in 1998 by the New York Islanders (assistant coach). Nolan declined on both offers. It is said Nolan was not offered an NHL coaching job again until May 2006, a span of eight years, and speculation as to why ranged from outright racism to a perceived fear that Nolan is a "GM Killer" based on his acrimonious working relationship with former boss Muckler.In 2003, Nolan was in talks to become the coach for the Toronto Toros of the new World Hockey Association, but it never got past talks, and the new WHA never formed. On 26 April 2005, he was hired as the coach and director of hockey operations for the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, who would host the 2006 Memorial Cup.
On December 16, 2005, Nolan was the victim of racial harassment during a Wildcats road game against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Fans in the stands shouted racial slurs at him and directed gestures such as the "tomahawk chop" and shooting a bow and arrow towards him as he stood behind the Moncton bench. Fans continued to taunt Nolan outside the arena after the game as he boarded the team bus with his players. The incident, he said later, left him shaking with anger and humiliation; while the fans' behaviour was condemned both by the QMJHL commissioner and Sagueneens management, Nolan felt that he had still to receive a formal apology from the Chicoutimi organization. As a result of the events that transpired in Chicoutimi, he referred to the Saguenay Region as being the "Alabama" of the QMJHL. After, he also had criticized the Gatineau Olympiques organisation for putting the 'Tomahawk Chop' song, which he said was racist. The Olympiques had written a public excuse to Mr. Nolan a bit after.
On December 25, 2005, it was reported that Nolan expressed interest in leaving Moncton to fill the New Jersey Devils coaching vacancy left by Larry Robinson. Despite this, the Devils never publically mentioned Nolan as a potential replacement.
Nolan's Wildcats reached the Memorial Cup final only to lose to the Quebec Remparts coached by Patrick Roy on May 28, 2006.
New York Islanders, 2006-Present
On June 8, 2006, New York Islanders owner, Charles Wang announced the hiring of Nolan as the new head coach. New York Post hockey columnist Larry Brooks quickly criticized Wang's hiring Nolan at the same time that he hired a new general manager, Neil Smith, rather than allow Smith to hire a coach who would report to him. [#endnote_media]Awards & achievements
- 1996-97 - Jack Adams Award Winner
Career statistics
National Hockey League - Regular Season- Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
| YEAR | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-82 | Detroit Red Wings | 41 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 45 |
| 1982-83 | Played in the AHL | |||||
| 1983-84 | Detroit Red Wings | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 26 |
| 1984-85 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 34 |
| NHL | Regular Season Totals | 78 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 105 |
American Hockey League - Regular Season
- Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
| YEAR | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | Adirondack Red Wings | 75 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 106 |
| 1980-81 | Adirondack Red Wings | 76 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 86 |
| 1981-82 | Adirondack Red Wings | 39 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 81 |
| 1982-83 | Adirondack Red Wings | 78 | 24 | 40 | 64 | 106 |
| 1983-84 | Adirondack Red Wings | 31 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 76 |
| 1984-85 | Rochester Americans | 65 | 28 | 34 | 62 | 152 |
| 1985-86 | Baltimore Skipjacks | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 19 |
| AHL | Regular Season Totals | 374 | 116 | 164 | 280 | 626 |
Notes and references
Further reading
External link
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