From wanting to bench future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers to firing head coach Robert Salah early in the season after a 2-3 start without even consulting with his general manager Joe Douglas, to firing Douglas six weeks later, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is putting on an absolute masterclass on how to run a sports franchise into the ground.
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
At this point, Johnson’s list of questionable actions over his tenure with the Jets might actually be longer than a CVS receipt.
Listen, an owner of a sports franchise has the right to do what they want, but when they don’t have a background in that sport, the intelligent thing to do is hire people who do and allow them to make the personnel decisions that they feel are best for the organization’s success.
While Douglas deserves his fair share of ridicule, drafting Zach Wilson second overall in 2021 off one good throw at the NFL combine is certainly toward the top, it seems that his Johnson did everything he could to undermine Douglas’s decisions.
That’s not a way to have success, which is why the Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010, with what will be 14 years serving as the longest current playoff drought in the NFL.
The New York Islanders were in the same boat when the late Charles Wang was running the franchise (2001-2016).
Over Wang’s tenure, the Islanders struggled to compete, missing the playoffs eight times, losing in the first round six times with one run to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 2016.
Wang, who didn’t have a hockey background, felt that he had to be heavily involved in decisions. That led to turnover in upper management, the best example being Neith Smith.
After being hired during the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, Smith was fired 40 days later because he was unwilling to go along with Wang’s managing style, where a group of people had a say in the decision-making rather than the acting general manager.
There’s also a story that former general manager Mike Milbury shared about Wang wanting to turn a Sumo Wrestler into an NHL goalie…and that’s not a joke.
Wang does deserve a tremendous amount of credit for keeping the Islanders on Long Island. He tried his best to get the Lighthouse Project built to help give the team a brand new home in Uniondale before having no choice but to make a move to Barclays Center to ensure the Islanders didn’t relocate out of the state.
So, for that reason, Wang is a hero to the Islanders community, but maybe having a different managerial approach could have led to more success on the ice.
Things changed for the franchise in 2016 when Wang sold the team to Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky.
While Ledecky is a hockey fan, Malkin had his sights set on business development, with UBS Arena and now “The Village” located right across the street from the Islanders’ beautiful home in Elmont.
Following the 2017-18 season, Malkin made his first and only general manager move, firing Garth Snow to bring aboard Hockey Hall of Fame general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Malkin didn’t have a hockey background and wanted to make sure he brought someone in with a proven track record who could truly run the franchise.
Lamoriello, a three-time Stanley Cup champion as New Jersey Devils general manager, immediately brought in a Stanley Cup winner of his own, hiring Barry Trotz to coach the team fresh after winning the Cup with the Washington Capitals a month prior.
The Lamoriello-Trotz era saw the Islanders make the playoffs for three straight seasons, which included two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.
They came one win away in 2021 from advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1984 but fell in Game Seven to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Then, after missing the playoffs in 2021-22 for the first time as general manager of the Islanders, Lamoriello made the difficult decision to fire Trotz, elevating Lane Lambert from associate coach to head coach.
After a year and a half with Lambert, Lamoriello elected to make a change, lighting a spark with the hiring of Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender and four-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Roy back in January.
Related: Lou’s Hire Of Patrick Roy As Islanders Coach Is A Brilliant Move For Now & Beyond
The move paid dividends, with the Islanders rallying to make the playoffs after seeming dead in the water.
While we won’t know exactly how much of a say Malkin had in any of Lamoriello’s decisions throughout the years, it’s safe to say that he’s let his general manager do his job rather than step on his toes.
That decision not to be a hands-on owner has allowed Lamoriello to restore credibility to a team that was once a staple of excellence.
Despite no Stanley Cup appearances so far over Malkin and Ledecky’s tenure at the helm, the Islanders have made the playoffs five times in six years.
Over the last few years, there’s been a rift between the fan base and ownership over the continued decision to allow Lamoriello to make decisions that haven’t “moved the needle, with first-round exits at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes in back-to-back postseasons.
Related: Ex-Hurricanes Defenseman ‘Impressed’ With Patrick Roy’s Game Plan In Islanders’ 2024 Playoff Clash vs. Carolina
However, ownership has yet to get too involved in hockey operations.
While ownership is enduring another season of Islanders challenges, including an early-season rash of injuries, the no-panic approach has allowed the club to try and steady the ship without pressure, knowing a coach or general manager may get the quick hook or be even on the hot seat.
What’s clear is that Malkin’s hands-off approach, given his lack of hockey experience, is a much better way to run a franchise than getting involved the way Johnson, a non-football mind, has with the Jets.
