According to New York Newsday former Lightning head coach John Tortorella is not on the short list of candidates to replace Ted Nolan as the Islanders head coach. Apparently, neither is Tampa Bay assistant coach Mike Sullivan, who also interviewed for the vacancy.

Can’t say I’m surprised to heart this. I know Tortorella’s name was thrown around quite a bit, and some even put him at the top of the list because he has prior coaching experience in New York as an assistant with the Rangers. And I know that Torts has a bit of a desire to return to the Northeast area of the country. But this just didn’t seem like a good fit for Tortorella to take over the Islanders as they are a team in transition right now, which is a big reason why Nolan was fired last month. General manager Garth Snow is trying to emphasize a youth movement and wants to find a coach willing to grow with young players such as Kyle Okposo. At this point in Tortorella’s career, I don’t think he’s willing to go through that kind of a process, which will likely take a few seasons to turn the Islanders into contenders, even with Rick DiPietro in goal.

So that means Tortorella will start the NHL season without a job, and still under contract with Tampa Bay, who will have to pay his salary as long as he remains out of a coaching position. But you can bet that once the first coach next season gets a pink slip, Tortorella’s name will jump to the top of the list for a possible replacement.