In the grand tradition of larger-than-life New York sports impresarios, Charles Wang is running his organization his way. He has never apologized for his approach to building a business. Whether in sports or in the computer world, Wang has gone about it in an unorthodox manner.
Questionable decisions are nothing new for Wang’s Islanders, as the New York press has deemed the team’s front office as “The Long Island Lunacies.” For years, Wang has employed Mike Milbury to run his hockey franchise, once considered the worst general manager in the NHL. He traded away star G Roberto Luongo for basically a bunch of unknowns, and then advised Wang to sign C Alexei Yashin to a 10-year, 87.5 million dollar contract in 2004 and G Rick DiPietro to a 15-year, 67.5 million dollar contract in 2006.
Wang thought he would be praised for his willingness to spend money; instead, these strange contract signings have become an albatross around the franchise’s neck. And questionable decisions are not limited only to the team’s personnel moves.
The Islanders hired Neil Smith last year, only to be fired by Wang after 40 days on the job. In the ensuing press conference, Wang felt he had “philosophical differences” with Smith in running the organization. Smith objected to Wang’s preference to run the organization by committee. He wanted sole authority in decision making, while Wang sought the opinion of his coach and two advisors, Bryan Trottier and Ken Morrow, before making a personnel move. In the end, Wang hired Garth Snow as the GM, after he retired as the team’s back-up goaltender. Coming into this season, the Islanders will have their fourth coach behind the bench during Wang’s ownership reign.
Most hockey writers have described Wang as being “quirky” or “eccentric” during their dealings with him, while the business world has called him a ruthless corporate raider, who devours small companies and spits out their bones. His business career has been marked with controversy.
In building Computer Associates, Wang was engaged in numerous corporate takeovers that were followed by the firings of top management and key employees. His strategy was to force employees of the acquired company to sign an employment agreement on-the-spot at their initial meeting. Employees who refused or asked for a third party to review the agreement were immediately fired. Wang demands blind loyalty from his employees.
Since becoming majority owner, Wang’s number one objective is developing the Lighthouse Project. It is the transformation of the Nassau Coliseum and the 77 surrounding acres into a business community consisting of a five-star hotel, condominiums, conference center, and an athletic complex to serve as the Islanders’ practice facility.
The problem with the Islanders is that there are too many chefs in the kitchen. Charles Wang needs only to look at his own team’s history to find the answer to getting his team back on course to winning a Stanley Cup. The franchise began operation in 1972, and developed into a dynasty in the early eighties by winning four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-1983. How did the Islanders become such a juggernaut? Well, they had one architect in Bill Torrey and one taskmaster behind the bench in Al Arbour. Together, they built the franchise from the ground up. Right now, Wang has too many voices in his ear giving him too many solutions for his franchise’s problems. Come up with one plan and one direction, then move forward.
