Capuano out as Islanders head coach

On Tuesday, the New York Islanders announced that they fired head coach Jack Capuano. Assistant general manager Doug Weight will take over the position on an interim basis. 

The Islanders finally listened to the "Fire Cappy" chants

Capuano had been with the Islanders since the 2005-2006 season, when he was named the assistant coach. After a short stint with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, Capuano was named the head coach of New York in November 2010. Since then, the 50-year old has compiled a 227-191-64 record with the Islanders. 

After last year's playoff push, expectations were strong for Capuano and the Islanders this year. Right now, the team is in last place in the Metropolitan Division with 42 points (17-17-8). This decision came just one day after the Islanders defeated the Boston Bruins by a score of 4-0. 

Following the announcement, GM Garth Snow said "The New York Islanders would like to thank Jack for his tireless work throughout his seven seasons with the organization as Head Coach. His leadership guided the team to the playoffs in three of the past four years, which included two straight 100-point seasons. He is a great coach and an even better person. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward."

Tavares' time with NYI could be coming to an end

The Islanders appear to moving toward a rebuild phase, as they lost Matt Martin, Kyle Okposo, and Frans Nielsen through free agency this past summer, and demoted goaltender Jaroslav Halak to the AHL. With Capuano gone, the team will turn to Doug Weight, a former NHL player of 19 seasons, who has yet to coach at the professional level. 

As the 2016-2017 season moves along, New York must determine whether they would commit to a full-rebuild or stay the course and hope that the team turns it around quickly. Before the turn of the new year, trade rumors surrounded captain John Tavares, who has 32 points in his first 42 games played. The Islanders asking price for the 26-year old is expected to be massive, but he is a name to keep an eye on as the NHL trade deadline nears.