It's a fact of life that a National Hockey League team's most valuable PLAYER cannot be its coach.
But if the vice was versa, the Islanders MVP would be a runaway -- TED NOLAN.
Oh, yeah, there would be plenty of votes for Rick (When He's Healthy) DiPietro and a smattering for solid captain Bill (Why Didn't I Come Here Sooner) Guerin.
Nevertheless, when all is said and done, Nolan is THE one.
nolan finally getting some respect is a much welcomed thing. the way he was blackballed by john muckler after hasek and muckler succeeded in setting the sabres back a few years was nothing but disgraceful.
i see nolan's rise as indicative of another much welcomed thing – the dissolution, slow as it's coming, of the old guard in the NHL — that cliquey group of eastern canadians who succeeded mostly, towards the end, in making life relatively miserable for the already disadvantaged commish.
nolan's only downfall is his support of chris simon for purely ethnic reasons. it's one thing to aggressively fight the racial tendencies of the NHL system, it's another to be so unapologetic about someone who deserved probably more than he got. if there is one thing that nolan can be justly criticized for, it's in making some occasionally really bad choices about people.
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