NHL Power Rankings: Who is the best head coach in the league?

#23: Jack Capuano

Despite the success of the New York Islanders over the past two seasons, one has to question if they are doing it because of Jack Capuano or in spite of him. Capuano has been given a talented roster but his utilization of it has been questionable at best. For starters, Capuano tinkers with his top three forward lines far more than any NHL head coach should. That prevents John Tavares and the rest of the forwards from developing chemistry with each other. Sticking with Jaroslav Halak in goal despite Thomas Greiss doing noticeably better is another questionable move.

Part of the issue is that Capuano only has one elite forward in Tavares. That falls on Islanders general manager Garth Snow. However, that doesn’t excuse him from switching Kyle Okposo from the first line to the second line repeatedly. That does nothing to help Tavares or Frans Nielsen. In fact, it likely hurts them.

Perhaps the most concerning thing about Capuano is how thoroughly Barry Trotz outcoached him during the first round of the playoffs last season. Trotz is a very good head coach who outcoaches tons of coaches, but Trotz simply coached circles around Capuano and the series came down to Trotz getting his best guys out there against some of Capuano’s worst. Capuano also did a terrible job getting his team to focus on winning after a questionable hit by Tom Wilson clearly got into their heads.

If the Islanders don’t have success in the NHL playoffs this season, expect Capuano to be fired.

Next: #22: Willie Desjardins