The New York Islanders announced today that Jack Capuano has been named interim head coach, replacing Scott Gordon.
Gordon will remain with the organization as an adviser to general manager Garth Snow.
Capuano has served as the head coach of the Islanders’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the past four seasons. He will make his National Hockey League head coaching debut on Wednesday, Nov. 17, against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
“We believe we need a change in direction and, with the majority of the regular season still ahead of us, our goal remains to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs,” Snow said. “Scott has made tremendous strides with our team the past three seasons and I look forward to continuing our relationship in an advisory capacity.”
Capuano, a native of Cranston, R.I., had a 133-108-14 career mark as head coach of the Sound Tigers. Capuano joined the New York Islanders organization in the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach with the Islanders and took over the Bridgeport bench in 2007-08.
Following the promotion of Capuano, Pat Bingham has been named head coach of the Sound Tigers.
“I’m very excited for Jack and his opportunity with the Islanders,” Bingham said. “This is not the most ideal situation to earn a head coaching position but I’m excited to have this role and look forward to the challenge of leading the Sound Tigers from this point on.”
This marks Bingham’s first stint as a head coach in the American Hockey League. The Vancouver, B.C., native joined the Islanders organization in 2005 as an assistant coach of the Sound Tigers. Bingham became head coach of the Fort Wayne Komets of the United Hockey League for the following season, then returned to the Sound Tigers where he has been an assistant coach since the 2007-08 season.
Bingham has previous head coaching experience in the Central Hockey League, United Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League. In his six combined seasons as a head coach, Bingham has lead each of those teams to a winning record, including a 51-17-4 mark with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL during the 2003-04 campaign where he won the ECHL Coach of the Year award. Over that six-season span, Bingham compiled an impressive 266-144-30 overall record.
Capuano is the 11th American Hockey League head coach to be promoted to the same post in the NHL since November 2007.
| 11 AHL head coaches have been promoted to the same post in the NHL since November 2007: | |||
| Coach | Date | NHL Team | AHL Team |
| Jack Capuano | Nov. 15, 2010 | N.Y. Islanders | Bridgeport |
| John MacLean | June 17, 2010 | New Jersey | Lowell |
| Guy Boucher | June 10, 2010 | Tampa Bay | Hamilton |
| Scott Arniel | June 8, 2010 | Columbus | Manitoba |
| Davis Payne | Jan. 2, 2010 | St. Louis | Peoria |
| Joe Sacco | June 4, 2009 | Colorado | Lake Erie |
| Dan Bylsma | Feb. 15, 2009 | Pittsburgh | W-B/Scranton |
| Cory Clouston | Feb. 2, 2009 | Ottawa | Binghamton |
| Scott Gordon | Aug. 12, 2008 | N.Y. Islanders | Providence |
| John Anderson | June 20, 2008 | Atlanta | Chicago |
| Bruce Boudreau | Nov. 22, 2007 | Washington | Hershey |
