It starts with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo asking then Islanders general manager Mike Milbury “how are you still the GM?”, and it only gets more contentious from there.
The audio is from an appearance Milbury made on the radio show “Mike And The Mad Dog” on June 3, 2003, the day Milbury fired then head coach Peter Laviolette. Laviolette and the Islanders had made the playoffs for the two years he was at the helm, leaving many Islanders fans scratching their heads.
Milbury said himself he asked Laviolette to just make the playoffs and admits he received a passing grade and had a good first season, and admitted Laviolette had “promise”.
The interview gets ridiculous when “Mad Dog” and Milbury begin arguing over whether or not to include “interim” head coaches in the total number of head coaches under Milbury’s reign as GM of the Islanders.
In the end, it’s easy to see why Milbury didn’t succeed in the GM role. The players he names as positive acquisitions made by him, whether via the draft or trade, are not exactly hanging from the rafters.
Laviolette would go on to win the Stanley Cup as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes just three years later.
By Jon Sorensen