The hammer for the Islanders’ season fell on Lou Lamoriello.
Owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky pulled the trigger on Tuesday, letting the president and general manager go to begin what will be a seismic shift in an organization that has been dominated by Lamoriello’s presence since he was hired in 2018.
Per the team’s announcement, operating partner John Collins will lead the search for the club’s next general manager.
The fate of head coach Patrick Roy was not announced by the club, nor were the fates of assistant general managers Chris Lamoriello and Steve Pellegrini.
“The Islanders extend a heartfelt thank you to Lou Lamoriello for his extraordinary commitment over the past seven years,” the team’s statement said. “His dedication to the team is in line with his Hall of Fame career.”
A 35-35-12 record in 2024-25 that saw the Islanders miss the playoffs for the second time in four seasons, with the roster stagnating for the duration, was enough for ownership to take decisive action.
Lamoriello, who turns 83 in October, leaves the Islanders with a mixed legacy, having piloted the team’s greatest era since the Dynasty from 2018-21 before presiding over its decline from 2021-25.
His 1,479 career wins are the second-highest for any general manager in NHL history, behind only David Poile, and it would be unsurprising to see him pursue another job despite his age.
His departure marks the end of an era.
Every piece of the Islanders’ organization was touched by Lamoriello. He was the end-all, be-all, from his no-facial-hair policy that prompted eye rolls around the league to the team’s marketing, which never emphasized individual players under his tutelage.
The club’s social media and community engagement were also restrained, with Lamoriello wanting players’ focus during the season to be exclusively on hockey.
He also played a major role in the construction of UBS Arena, a building the Islanders had sought for decades, and in guiding the club through the traumatic experience of losing John Tavares in free agency.
Hiring Barry Trotz as head coach and building an eventual two-time conference finalist that was just a shorthanded goal away from the Islanders’ first Stanley Cup Final since 1984 will likely outlive what’s been a negative last few seasons for Lamoriello.
The questions now turn to what’s next. Lamoriello did two jobs — team president and general manager — for the last seven years.
Will the Islanders look to combine the two jobs again or separate them, perhaps with Collins taking the presidency?
And once someone is hired, what will the plan look like to revitalize a roster that could use serious reconstruction, but comes with a slew of long-term deals and no-trade clauses that make a full teardown all but impossible?
With the arguable exceptions of Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat and Ilya Sorokin, there’s questions over the future of every player in the organization.
Then there’s the fate of Roy.
It’s believed he and Lamoriello clashed over decisions at times this year, and it is possible that he will at least get a chance to interview for the GM role. At the same time, most of Roy’s managerial experience is in junior hockey, and he left the Avalanche over clashes with Joe Sakic when the two of them were both empowered to have a say in personnel.
If it is not Roy, a new general manager’s first decision will be whether or not to retain him as head coach.