Lamoriello is out, the search for a GM Begins

On Tuesday afternoon, the Islanders announced that President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Lou Lamoriello will not return next season. The Islanders have begun the search led by managing partner John Collins, but majority owner Scott Malkin had to be convinced to let him go, and he did. This makes the summer full of even more questions.

The fate of Patrick Roy is still uncertain, as he is still being evaluated, and the final call on him will be made by the next general manager. I suspect he will return for one more year, as it was reported there was a bit of tension between Roy and Lamoriello when it came to how the team should play. Lamoriello believed they should play a more defensive game, while Roy preferred a more free flowing high tempo high chance game. Weather or not Roy returns will depend on the new GM, but I personally am in favor of giving him another season.

Though Lamoriello’s last ~18 months as GM hasn’t been fantastic, he overall had a very successful tenure as the Islanders general manager. The one main blemish on his trade resume on Long Island was trading away Devon Toews for two second round picks. While over the last 5 years acquiring Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Palmieri, Alex Romanov, and Bo Horvat. Those deals are definitely good deals, but one would argue Lamoriello’s faulty draft record, and lack of first round selections (3) definitely plays a part in the Islanders lack of young talent. Lamoriello should still be very appreciated among Islander fans, he brought the organization back to a competent level, and according to Elliotte Friedman, made the Islanders job “very desirable.”

The Islanders are entering a new era, over the coming weeks they’ll hire a new General Manager, and they will have a lot of decisions to make this summer, players to keep, players to trade away, they’ll also hold at least a top 11 draft pick, pending the result of the draft lottery. The Islanders will be big players in free agency I would guess, which will be very interesting to watch, as the organization becomes more modernized.