Isles’ coaching search begins after firings

New GM Lamoriello expects to hire ‘the best coach available’

June 6, 2018 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

New Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello admitted that while he respects both of the men he fired Tuesday, the organization is in need of a new voice going forward. AP Photo by Mel Evans

Share this:

Lou Lamoriello spent a couple of weeks sizing up the Islanders’ organization after being named the struggling franchise’s president of Hockey Operations on May 22.

The Hall of Fame executive was impressed enough with the scouting department to keep it intact.

And he’s standing pat with the assistant coaches as well, at least for the time being.

But the two major moves that Lamoriello made on Tuesday afternoon, firing second-year head coach Doug Weight and relieving longtime general manager Garth Snow of his duties came with somewhat of a heavy heart.

“Both Garth, who is a personal friend and one I’ve known for a long time, and also Dougie, who played for me in ’96 and ’98 [as a member of Team USA], I have tremendous respect for,” Lamoriello ceded during a teleconference with the media shortly after announcing the decisions.

“We’ve had meetings and conversations throughout the past two weeks that I’ve been here,” he added. “It’s my opinion, at this point, there is a coaching change that is needed and there is a new voice that is needed in different areas.”

Lamoriello, the overlord of three Stanley Cup titles and five Finals appearances during his well-chronicled run in N.J., filled Snow’s job himself, taking on GM duties ahead of the June 22 NHL Draft and the free agency period which will follow soon after.

He will be the “voice” of this franchise for the foreseeable future after orchestrating an impressive turnaround in Toronto, where the once-hapless Maple Leafs went from league-worst to a franchise record for points in a season during his three-year reign at the helm.

But as far as finding a new head coach to lead the players on the ice, Lamoriello revealed that he is still in the process of finding the right man for the job.

“The best coach that we can get for the players that we have,” he said when pressed on the matter.

“Not every coach is for every team and not every team is for every coach. We’ll have to just wait and see.”

Ironically, the recently canned Snow and Weight will hang around the organization, mainly due to contractual obligations, giving Lamoriello the option of using them as he sees fit during what is expected to be a challenging rebuilding project.

“There are not specific roles laid out [for Snow and Weight], but as I just answered … the respect that I have for them, they understand the decision that was made, and they can be valuable in me picking their brain,” he said. “We’ll determine that as we go along. I’m not afraid to reach out to them, I’ve already done that.”

Of course, the rumor mill has already begun to swirl regarding whom Lamoriello will tab as the 20th head coach in Islanders history.

Be it former Devils defenseman and Lamoriello favorite Scott Stevens or Barry Trotz, who stands one victory away from winning the Stanley Cup for the Washington Capitals, but still doesn’t have a contract for next season.

The names will continue to pour in the longer Lamoriello takes a wait-and-see approach.

But at some point, the man with the plan will have to find someone who is agreeable to pending unrestricted free-agent-to-be John Tavares and the rest of the team’s roster, which is loaded with offensive talent but is coming off one of the worst defensive years in franchise history.

“The bottom line is there are a lot of tremendous people here,” Lamoriello insisted.

“Right now, it’s trying to stabilize everything and start everything off with a fresh face, a fresh mind and go forward.”

Having fallen a single point shy of a playoff berth in 2016-17 under Weight, then failing to seriously compete for a postseason spot this past season, Isles ownership decided to hand Lamoriello the keys to an organization that hasn’t been relevant on the New York sports landscape for decades.

But the Rhode Island native refused to buy in to the concept that a shift in culture was what this organization needed most.

“Culture is a very overused word and underdeveloped,” he bristled. “It’s just doing little things a different way, I can’t really define that.”

Lamoriello also made sure to let everyone know that it was he running the organization and making decisions going forward and not the Isles’ best player and team captain.

“[Tavares’ pending free agency] certainly has not and did not enter into any of the decisions that were made,” he said.

“We’re going to get the best coach available. Right now, if we had the coach he’d be here.”

Isle Have Another: While Lamoriello reshapes the front office and continues his search for a head coach, Isles co-owner Jon Ledecky is paving the way for the team’s eventual move to Elmont, N.Y. Ledecky was the Grand Marshall for last weekend’s Belmont Stakes Parade in advance of this weekend’s race at Belmont Race Track, which will stand adjacent to the team’s state-of-the-art arena, slated to open in time for the 2021-22 campaign. “Thank you so much for the privilege of becoming part of your community,” Ledecky said to the crowd in Elmont. “It is an honor for the New York Islanders to be coming to Elmont. We love your community, we respect your community and we want to be a vaunted and important part of your community.” The Isles, who won the bid to develop on the site back in December, still haven’t put a shovel in the ground. But the arena is expected to be the centerpiece of a massive $1 billion development that will include a hotel, retail area, dining and entertainment spaces and offices as well as additional parking.