New York Islanders Could Have New Coach in A Week (Report)

New York Islanders President of Hockey Operations and GM Lou Lamoriello has been nothing less than decisive. Firing Garth Snow and Doug Weight two weeks after coming on. Now he could be hiring a coach just two weeks after that.

When Lou Lamoriello was brought in as the New York Islanders President of Hockey Operations he was tasked with turning this bumbling franchise into a winner. It wouldn’t be done overnight, but Lou was brought in to make decisions to turn this franchise around as soon possible.

And within two weeks of being hired, he rightly identified that the Islanders needed a culture change. He fired long-time GM and former President of Hockey Operations Garth Snow and Head Coach Doug Weight.

It was a decisive move to set this organization on a winning path. It was a classic Lou move. And according to a report, it seems like Lou is ready to appoint a new coach within the next week.

Firing to Hiring

On June 5th, 2018 Lou Lamoriello fired Garth Snow and Dough Weight. He appointed himself as General Manager and left the Head Coach spot vacant. A coaching search was initiated. And now according to SNY.tv’s Chris Botta, Lou is hoping to have someone in place just before the draft.

Day one of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft is June 22nd, 2018. Lou is hoping to have a coach in place within 17 days after firing Doug Weight. And with Lou’s Rolodex, the New York Islanders aren’t going to have to settle for Bridgeport’s coach or one of the assistants already on staff.

More from Eyes On Isles

• Islanders key to success: Load management with goalies
• Islanders Zdeno Chara trending in the right direction
• Islanders: Semyon Varlamov Deserves Benefit of the Doubt
• Islanders Ilya Sorokin becoming number one goalie
• Islanders Zach Parise Was Quiet in Return to Minnesota

The only time garth hired a coach from outside of the organization it took him a month. He fired Ted Nolan on July 14th, 2008 and hired Scott Gordon from the Providence Bruins on August 12th, 2008. The Islanders aren’t used to this kind of decisiveness. We aren’t used to management identifying a problem and solving it.

If Lou is already close to appointing a candidate its likely due to the fact that he’s seen the field of candidates, identified his preferred choices, has potentially spoken to a few, and is now at the offer stage of the hiring process. Or at least close to it. All within 17 days at most.

We already knew that in Lou Lamoriello the New York Islanders were going to be getting a whole new type of leader. His experience, contacts, and just general approach to the role were vastly different than his predecessor.

Making his first marquee hiring will be interesting to see. Does Lou go for an up-and-comer with no NHL experience like Sheldon Keefe? Or does he bring in an established veteran coach like Alain Vigneault?

Ideally, the Islanders need someone with the experience of a veteran coach who can also work with young players like an AHL coach tends to be.

Want your voice heard? Join the Eyes On Isles team!

Write for us!

Next: Three Teams In Need of First Round Picks

Lou’s qualities are already showing, he’s only three weeks into the gig. So far his decision making has been spot on. But then again, firing Garth Snow was about as easy as drafting John Tavares. Hiring a coach will tell us how he plans to run the team and what kind of team this will be.