For a month, general manager Garth Snow knew he wanted to hire Doug Weight as the full-time head coach of the Islanders.
But Weight, Weight, maybe the man in the organization with the best sense of perspective and patience, waited until he sat down with ownership two days after the playoff-less season before deciding he wanted the job.
On Wednesday, the organization announced Weight as the full-time head coach, a testament to his 40-game audition that started on Jan. 17 when the Islanders fired Jack Capuano. Under Weight, the team went 24-12-4 and rose from last in the conference to one point out of a playoff spot.
“It was important to me to meet with all of my bosses face-to-face and talk about things,” Weight said Wednesday morning on a conference call. “I believe in that communication and that clarity, as do they.”
Clarity wasn’t exactly the optimal way to describe what happened when Snow began speaking. He made it seem as if everyone was pretty happy with how things have gone, rather than think this season was a step backward after the Islanders won their first playoff series in 23 years the previous year.
Snow suggested the team he put together was just somehow unlucky in this campaign — though they were relatively healthy. The organization has been under his stewardship since 2006.
“When the team loses, there’s going to be bullets and arrows flying,” Snow said. “It’s part of the gig.”
This was the first full year with Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin as majority owners, and Snow said that they were influential in making the decision to keep Weight as coach.
As Ledecky and Malkin continue to search for someone to add to the front office — possibly someone to oversee Snow — the current GM said he was happy with his relationship with his bosses. If Snow also was integral in the big decision to promote Weight, it means his place in the organization is on steady ground for the time being.
“Relationship is great. I’ve had a tremendous amount of support from ownership,” Snow said. “Communication, as president and general manager, it’s not on a daily basis, but you speak several times a week. So the communication has always been there. It’s something I’m grateful that I’ve always had the support of ownership.”
Snow also said he hopes to get star John Tavares signed to an extension some time this summer. Tavares has only one more year left on his modest contract that carries a $5.5 million salary-cap hit.