In May 2018, the New York Islanders franchise forever changed. They brought in Lou Lamoriello as president of hockey operations and Barry Trotz as head coach. The two are credited for the culture shift and success in recent years, even with losing franchise star John Tavares to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Six years later, a lot has been accomplished for the 81-year-old Lamoriello who has established himself as a legend in the sport of hockey. However, it must be asked, how long of a leash does he have?
Lamoriello’s History With the Islanders
The Lamoriello era on Long Island has seen a lot. It began with bringing in Robin Lehner to fix the team’s years-long struggles in the goaltending department. In his first and only season as an Islander, Lehner raised awareness for mental health struggles, established himself as an elite goaltender by winning the William M. Jennings Trophy alongside Thomas Greiss, and led the Islanders to a first-round sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs. He was a hero on the Island, and gave fans a season they will never forget.
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Since then, it feels as if each season has been mushed into one. The following season, the Islanders had a 10-game winning streak in the fall, went to the semi-final of the playoffs in the bubble, and proved to the league they were one of the best teams in hockey. When many doubted them the following season, they once again made the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 in Game 7. Since that game, they have yet to win a playoff series and have been a consistently average team.
While they have shown lots of promise in recent games, taking down elite-level teams such as the Boston Bruins with dominant games, they have also looked as bad as anyone could, losing to bottom-feeders such as the Chicago Blackhawks at their worst. With almost the entire core signed to long-term deals with big cap hits, there is not much the team can do to improve. With that said, does the builder of this team, Lamoriello, have security if another missed playoffs, or even first-round exit, occur?
This Ain’t No Armchair GM
Designing an NHL team is hard, regardless of how long you have been in the league. Lamoriello has built some of the best of the best and is a big reason why the Islanders had so much success in recent years. While it is always fun to envision the team completely changing for the better, bringing in top free agents and making blockbuster trades to become contenders, it is unrealistic.
For Islanders’ fans at this year’s trade deadline, that reality set in once the clock struck 3 p.m. Eastern time. The team went tradeless, one of just two teams to do so. Despite making a move earlier this season in acquiring Robert Bortuzzo, Lamoriello opted to not change anything else, including just a call-up or waiver claim. At the time, the Islanders were not at all guaranteed to make the playoffs, so this decision was understandable.
What can also be taken from this decision is that Lamoriello is looking to next season. A general manager or president of hockey operations who feared his job could be on the line would not stay quiet and let his struggling team ride it out, he would have made a big move. His silence shows he believes he will stick around, at least through next season. As well, there was an even bigger decision that signifies Lamoriello is unlikely to leave.
When the Islanders fired head coach Lane Lambert and brought in Patrick Roy, he was not named an interim coach. Hired as the full-time head coach, he is unlikely to be a one-year coach, at least that was the plan. At the time, this decision showed a long-term vision in management and was only solidified at the All-Star Break when Roy brought coach Benoit Desrosiers in as an assistant coach.
The decision for Roy to bring in his understudy from the Quebec Remparts meant more than just getting help for the remainder of the season. It shows he believes Desrosiers is a long-term fit with the Islanders, and the Islanders have trust in him to bring in his guys.
Future Plans?
A theory going around social media is the Islanders are looking for a potential transition from Lamoriello to Roy as president of hockey operations, with Desrosiers becoming head coach at that time as well. This theory is not that far-fetched, however, because Roy was the general manager and vice-president of hockey operations for the Remparts, as well as head coach, before joining the Islanders. As one of the greatest minds in the NHL’s lengthy history, Roy could be a great fit for the Islanders. With the Remparts, he won the Memorial Cup, the most coveted prize in Canadian junior hockey.
As well, former head coach Barry Trotz left the Islanders and became general manager of the Nashville Predators. Trotz’s departure from the Islanders was under murky circumstances, so it is possible he wanted a management role but Lamoriello was not ready to step down. Trotz has done an incredible job with Nashville, fleecing opposing general managers in trades and making two great free-agent signings in Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist.
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Lamoriello’s departure from his previous team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, saw his predecessor, Kyle Dubas, immediately fill his role. Dubas has since left Toronto and joined the Pittsburgh Penguins as president of hockey operations at just 38 years old, earning a promotion in his departure.
For the Islanders to look at the success of Dubas and Trotz with their respective teams, they may now be looking to do the same with Roy. Spending a few years with the Islanders franchise and learning under Lamoriello before transitioning to a front-office role is likely for Roy, and would likely work well. Whether the Islanders’ recent struggles could impact Lamoriello’s job status is unknown, but considering his leash under ownership so far in his tenure, it is hard to imagine he will be let go this spring.
