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What ever happened to accountability? It is obvious that word doesn’t exist within the Islanders organization.  The Islanders haven’t made the playoffs since the 2006-07 season.  They’ve finished last in their division every year since, including last place in the entire league in 2008-09.

The Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes just fired their coaches because their seasons have not started the way each team expected them to.  In the Capitals and Hurricane’s cases, the coaches were held accountable. Both teams made the playoffs last season, and both have all-star talent that the coach was not able to harness. Therefore it makes sense to fire the coach for someone else.

In the Islanders’ case it should be the general manager that is held accountable. Since Garth Snow retired from being the backup goalie and was promoted to general manager (in the same day), his team has made the playoffs once.  And that team was mostly assembled by Neil Smith who was fired after 40 days on the job.

The Islanders are on their third coach since they last made the playoffs. They fired Ted Nolan, and fired Scott Gordon.  Jack Capuano is now on the hot seat, because once again the Islanders sit at the bottom of the league standings.

It’s not the coach that is the problem. That should be blatantly obvious when you have three different coaches produce the same results. But apparently it is not obvious. At least not for Islanders management.

The general manager (and the owner to an extent) should and need to be held accountable. Snow should be held accountable for the Islanders failing.

All summer long the Islanders spoke of commitment. They spoke of how the goal was to make the playoffs, and that they were committed to achieve that goal. But here the Islanders sit, realistically out of the playoffs by American Thanksgiving. Again. Five seasons in a row. That falls on the shoulders of the general manager.

But it’s not all his fault.

Even though management constantly tells the media that they don’t have any spending restrictions, it is obvious to many that they’re lying about that. The Islanders consistently have the lowest payroll in the entire league, and since Blake Comeau was claimed by the Calgary Flames on waivers, they have the lowest in the league once again. The Islanders are above the salary cap floor due to bonuses on the contracts of Jay Pandolfo, Steve Staios, and Nino Niederreiter, and the buyouts of Brendan Witt and Alexei Yashin. This is the owner’s fault.

Jack Capuano hasn’t been fired yet. But he will be soon. He will be the scapegoat for the Islanders failings just like Scott Gordon before him, and Ted Nolan before that.

But the two that should be held accountable for the Islanders failings are Garth Snow and Charles Wang. The time has come for Garth Snow to be fired. But we all know that probably won’t happen.

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