Fischler: My Five Favorite Islanders Coaches

When the New York Islanders were organized at the start of the 1970s, they went from great to great in terms of their head coaching choices. Here's Stan Fischler's favorite Islander coaches.

When the New York Islanders were organized at the start of the 1970s, they went from grate to great in terms of their head coaching choices.

Phil Goyette, who was Bill Torrey's first choice, never had been a full-time coach before -- and coached as if his job was a trigonometry class he had never taken.

By contrast, his successor Al Arbour -- to this day -- is hailed as one of the all-time top bench bosses, if not the best of all time.

From Radar to the present, I've had the pleasure -- not to mention pain -- of studying each of the puck professors who've called the shots. The following Top Five gave me more pleasure than pain.

1. AL ARBOUR: He was the perfect coach in every single way, Radar knew how to orchestrate personalities, the press, and his personnel. He accomplished what no other coach of an American team ever did, winning four straight Stanley Cups. What's more, no other coach, anywhere, can match Al guiding the Isles to 19 consecutive playoff series victories.

2. BARRY TROTZ: I called Barry "The Winston Churchill of Coaches" because he knew how to deal with crises. A Cup-winner in Washington, Trotz had a particularly intelligent way of doing things and then could articulate his points. He gave Isles fans a couple of interesting playoff teams and proved that the Isles could do just as well without John Tavares as with the one-time captain.

3. PETER LAVIOLETTE: Unknown and inexperienced when he arrived in Uniondale, Lavvy was a Mike Milbury gamble that paid off. Replacing Butch Goring, Peter made the most of acquisitions --forward Michael Peca and Alexei Yashin -- not to mention goalie Christ Osgood. His club started the 2001-2002 season 9-0-1-1 and finished with a heart-rending playoff loss to Toronto.

4. TED NOLAN: I always had the feeling that this guy knew what he was doing. Ted was the guy who, if Hollywood wanted to cast a "perfect coach," the producer would pick Teddy - because he looked like a winner. Granted, he didn't win big on the Island, but he wasn't given enough time. His first crack (40-30-12; .561 topped all coach percentages except for Arbour's.

5. JACK CAPUANO: Cappy was the only coach who allowed me into his staff room pre-game to tell him a joke. That alone made him a winner. His record -- 227-192-64 and .536 was admirable for its time. He was a players' coach who didn't have enough good players to turn him into a top-drawer mentor, but I loved his sense of humor and down-to-earth style.