New York Islanders Get Little Hope With Lou Lamoriello

The New York Islanders can use a new GM, and a lot of fans have their eyes set on now former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello.

Ever since the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated in the first round by the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders fans have been pinning to get Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello to New York.

I wrote a piece just a few days ago saying that Lou staying with the Maple Leafs as they work through the transition from the old guard to the new crop of kids just makes sense. That didn’t age well at all.

Turns out that the Toronto Maple Leafs only had a three-year agreement with Lou, and that three-year window is now over.

GM to Special Advisor

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that Lou Lamoriello would not be returning as GM. Rather at the end of his three-year deal, he would transition into a special advisor role.

The availability of a man that was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009 as a builder will make any Isles fans mouth water. Because that theoretically means we could go from Garth to a Hall of Fame builder.

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From a GM who’s greatest achievement is drafting John Tavares first overall in 2009, to GM that’s won three Stanley Cups and made the cup finals five times. How amazing would that be?

How much would the appointment of Lou Lamoriello as GM change your opinions of the owners and their desires to win? If they could succeed it would have to change our perceptions of the two for the better.

But even with this new development, I can’t see Lou Lamoriello joining the New York Islanders and sharing power with Garth Snow.

If the owners are willing to remove Garth Snow as GM, then we might have a chance. But what makes any Islanders fan think Scott Malkin or John Ledecky are willing to do such a thing? They could have done so weeks ago and yet haven’t.

Maybe they look to speak with Lou and his demands force their hand for the first time. Maybe he doesn’t want to share power with Garth and tells the owners. And maybe, just maybe, they grant him that request.

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Look, this also assumes that the there aren’t other teams out there looking. We know the Minnesota Wild are looking for a new GM, and so are the Carolina Hurricanes. It also assumes that Lou isn’t just ready to retire. The man is 75-years-old after all, who says a special advisor role with the Toronto Maple Leafs isn’t something he’d absolutely love to do?