If general manager Mike Milbury hadn’t yet reached his breaking point with coach Butch Goring, the Islanders’ 6-0 loss to the lowly Lightning Saturday night hurled him clear over the boards.
Seething over the Islanders’ lack of effort and discipline – a telling sign that the coach had lost his team – Milbury fired Goring yesterday morning.
“I think those of you who were here last night witnessed a team that has lost its way,” a gloomy-as-ever Milbury said yesterday at the Coliseum. “I’ve always felt that the measure of a team should be in how they’re disciplined and conditioned and motivated. And last night was probably the worst performance we’ve had to date.
“There’s a level of frustration and the inability to come together as a group right now that made it imperative that we make a change . . . We can’t go through games as we did last night or Thursday [a uninspired 3-1 loss to the Hurricanes] and not produce the emotion and the energy and the effort that marks a professional team. I didn’t want to do this. But when I see what appears to be a lack of effort and I see it frequently, then there’s no choice.”
Associate coach Lorne Henning will take over on an interim basis for the final 17 games of the season, beginning tonight when the Isles visit the Rangers.
Immediately after being canned, Goring, who was said to be distraught, bolted from the Coliseum. He was unreachable later for comment.
“He was pretty shook up,” said Henning, a long-time friend and former Islander teammate of Goring’s.
Hired by Milbury on April 30, 1999, after a long minor-league coaching career, Goring called this his dream job. He hoped to lead the Isles back to the Stanley Cup prominence that he enjoyed while playing for them in the early ’80s. Instead, his efforts have been stymied, in part, by a minor league-like roster his first year and an injury-ravaged team this season. He leaves with the Islanders carrying the worst record in the NHL at 17-40-5-3, which gives him a two-year mark of 41-89-14-4.
“The circumstances haven’t been great for Butch,” Milbury acknowledged, but added that Goring was given a much-improved team this season.
As if he’s been preparing it for some time, Milbury said he has already compiled a short list of coaching candidates, obviously none of which he would name. However, it’s thought that former Devils coach Robbie Ftorek is high on the list, followed by former Bruins coach Pat Burns and former Sabres coach Ted Nolan.
All three coaches are considered disciplinarians, which fits Milbury’s search for a “no-nonsense, firm-handed individual.”
Reached at his New Jersey home yesterday, Ftorek, a Devils scout, refused to comment about any interest he might have in becoming the Isles’ coach.
“I won’t talk about hockey at this point in time,” said Ftorek, who played against Milbury for rival New England prep schools.
Meanwhile, Goring, with an easy-going personality, was not known to be particularly tough on his players.
“He tried his best to get this team ready for each game,” Milbury said. “The fact of the matter was that on many nights it didn’t work. Now that’s not all Butch’s fault. But when I collectively gets to a point where they can embarrass themselves the way they embarrassed themselves [Saturday] night, as a general manager, I cannot let that continue, for the fans of Long Island, for the new ownership and for myself.”
Milbury said that after Saturday’s game he spoke to co-owners Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar and received permission to fire Goring. Milbury apparently didn’t need to talk them into it. In a meeting with fans last month, Wang put Goring firmly on the hot seat by not committing to the coach for next season.
Milbury told the players of Goring’s firing after summoning them to the Coliseum for a 9:15 a.m. team meeting.
“We’re surprised,” Brad Isbister said. “By us not doing our job it seems like he’s kind of the fall guy. It’s disappointing.”
Added Mariusz Czerkawski, “It’s a bad day. We all take responsibility for that. We failed.”
