Lamoriello takes over a team that has made the playoffs only four times in the past 12 seasonsGETTY IMAGES
The Islanders today officially named former Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello their President of Hockey Operations, and where this leaves Islanders President & GM Garth Snow is "unclear," according to Arthur Staple of THE ATHLETIC. Snow’s contract "runs for at least four more years with a steep buyout clause." Sources said that Lamoriello will be "fully in charge." Putting Lamoriello at the top of the front office "adds a level of credibility that can only help the team’s chances" of retaining C John Tavares, who has been "craving that sort of respectability for the organization." Leafs President Brendan Shanahan had "no intention to force Lamoriello to stay on" after they made Kyle Dubas GM (THEATHLETIC.com, 5/21). On Long Island, Andrew Gross notes Lamoriello's son, Chris, has been "assistant GM under Snow" since August '16. Islanders co-Owner Jon Ledecky "made it clear on April 9 that evaluating the hockey operations department also was a key priority." The team has "made the playoffs only four times" in Snow's 12 seasons (NEWSDAY, 5/22).
NEXT STOP: In New Jersey, Abbey Mastracco notes while some "speculated that Lamoriello might retire after the Leafs removed him as general manager, those who knew him figured the Islanders would be one last project for the 75-year-old executive." Known as an "immensely competitive and tireless worker, this type of reclamation project is exactly the type of situation that would attract Lamoriello" (Bergen RECORD, 5/22). In N.Y., Larry Brooks writes under the header, "How Lou Lamoriello Can Save Islanders From Years Of Excuses." The authority granted to Lamoriello by Islanders ownership is "absolute." There will be "no side games run out of Lamoriello’s office." He would bring an "end to hoarding draft picks and draft selections while continually moving the goal posts and adjusting expectations to a future that was always pushed just out of reach by Snow." He has a "history as a go-for-it chief executive, which just may be the most important piece of his résumé in attempting to convince" Tavares to stay (N.Y. POST, 5/22). N.Y. Daily News' Bob Raissman said that Lamoriello "is one of the best executives to ever work in this area." Raissman said, "He turns them around right away" ("Daily News Live," SNY, 5/21).
