The Islanders fired Jack Capuano on Tuesday after a dismal first half of the season. Doug Weight, the team's assistant general manager, was named interim coach.
"At the end of the day organizationally, I don't think Jack was going to be a coach we were going to bring back," Isles general manager Garth Snow said on a conference call Tuesday afternoon. "We need to turn this ship around and I really have a lot of confidence in our coaching staff and in our players."
Capuano was hired as interim Islanders coach on Nov. 15, 2010, when general manager Garth Snow fired Scott Gordon after a disastrous start to the 2010-11 season. Under Capuano, whose only head coaching experience had been in the ECHL and AHL, the Islanders improved slowly, making the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
The Islanders had 100 points in each of the past two seasons and won a playoff round last spring for the first time since 1993. But Capuano and his staff could not get the new-look team, without longtime Islanders Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen and Matt Martin, on track this season.
Capuano had a record of 227-192-64 in 483 games, second on the franchise list behind Hall of Famer Al Arbour.
The decision came one day after the Islanders had one of their best wins of the season, 4-0 over the Bruins in Boston.
The Islanders (17-17-8) are in last place in the Metropolitan Division with 42 points. It is the third-lowest point total in the NHL.
"It's an honor to have served this historic franchise and its passionate fans," Capuano said in a release. "I'd like to thank Garth and our ownership group for the opportunity to be the head coach of the Islanders. I'd also like to recognize our coaching staff, training staff and players for all of their hard work."
