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New York Islanders 3 Reasons Lou Lamoriello is GM of the Year Candidate

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders prior to the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders prior to the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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17th April 1934: Football referee S F Evans describing the off-side rule with the aid of a blackboard to public schoolmasters at Mill Hill School, London. (Photo by E. Dean/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
17th April 1934: Football referee S F Evans describing the off-side rule with the aid of a blackboard to public schoolmasters at Mill Hill School, London. (Photo by E. Dean/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) /

Having a plan

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.

Lou likely had a plan when he was hired by the Islanders just under a year ago. And that plan included John Tavares. And then Tavares famously left for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I’m sure Lou thought it could happen, but plan A included Tavares. After Tavares left he had to turn to plan B.

It didn’t look like a great plan at first. Lou’s great masterpiece to turn the Islanders around was going to involve Valtteri Filppula, Leo Komarov, Tom Kuhnhackl, and Matt Martin. None of those players screamed improvement.

After back-to-back seasons of disappointment, things didn’t look great before the season started. And the Islanders were wildly ridiculed for it. Remember that Deadspin article that openly mocked the Islanders in September?

The Islanders weren’t going to blow teams out of the water like Tampa. They would out-work any team. They’d be tough to play against and would give up an inch of ice. It didn’t sound like a winning formula. Talent is supposed to win, and when you don’t have it, you shouldn’t win.

But the New York Islanders did. They played the way Lou Lamoriello set the team up to play, and they won. They accumulated a 48-27-7 record for 103 points and second place in the Metropolitan Division.

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What else is a GM supposed to do other than hatch a strategy to win and set up his team to execute that strategy? Lou did both and they earned 103 points to finish fifth in the NHL. They were supposed to be dead last and only four teams were better than them.

That, combined with everything else, is why Lou should be considered for GM of the Year.

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