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Doug Weight officially retires, becomes Islanders assistant coach and assistant GM

Doug Weight

New York Islanders center Doug Weight warms up before facing the Colorado Avalanche in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

David Zalubowski

As we suspected earlier this week and many expected at least a season before, Doug Weight announced his retirement from the NHL. Well, let’s rephrase that: he retired as an NHL player, but will serve as an assistant coach and GM for the New York Islanders.

TSN’s Scott Cullen and others bring up an interesting question regarding Weight’s dual job titles, though. Would there be any confusion about who “answers” to whom: Weight to head coach Jack Capuano or Capuano to assistant GM Weight?

My guess is that GM Garth Snow and the rest of the Islanders front office either a) clarified the hiearchy to Weight and Capuano already or b) basically added titles to a system that was already in place last season. Weight was seen as a mentor to teammates (and maybe) a sounding board for Snow, so perhaps this just formalizes his duties. In other words, it would be more awkward if Weight came in with those two titles and no history with the team.

Either way, that’s an issue for the future. For now, the focus should be on Weight, who had a fantastic 19-year career before succumbing to an accumulation of injuries. We discussed his impressive NHL career in this post.

If Weight does indeed retire, he shouldn’t have many regrets. Winning his first (and only) Stanley Cup with the 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes probably put a nice bow on his lengthy professional career even though he played in five more seasons.

Weight scored 278 goals and 755 assists for 1,033 points in 1,238 regular-season games in his 19-year career. He also was a solid playoff performer, notching 23 goals and 49 assists 72 points in 97 postseason games. Weight played for the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks and New York Islanders, with his longest stays coming in Edmonton and St. Louis.