Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Backup Goaltenders are Better in Management Positions

That stare will be PERFECT for intimidating interns!
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Yet another retiring back up goaltender has been promoted to a management position within the New York Islanders organization. Today, the team announced that Mike Dunham will move from his seat on the bench to a seat behind the bench, and become the team's goaltending coach.

Thanks to the sellar play of Wade Dubielewicz down the stretch last season, the team rewarded 'Dubie' with a full-time job as Rick DiPietro's back up this summer. This left Dunham with no roster spot in the organization, and presumably there was little interest from other teams in the league. Goaltending is a buyer's market in the NHL right now, and even ignoring Dunham's craptastic play last year, it would be hard for him to find a job. Chances are, Dunham waited out the summer and found no better offers than a job behind the bench with the Islanders. I've got nothing against the guy, but the team was 4-10-3 in games he started during the regular season, and there's no denying that they were much better off with Dubielewicz (4-1-0), and DiPietro (32-19-9).

...and cue the Islander jokes. I knew it was about that time in the summer.

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