Islanders: Pros and cons of Lou Lamoriello GM of the Year nod

Should New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello win the 2020 GM of the year award? Here are some pros and cons to help you decide.

On Wednesday, New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello was named a finalist for the league’s GM of the year’s award; the Jim Gregory award.

Lou Lamoriello is up for the award with fellow General Managers Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Jim Nill (Dallas Stars).

Brisebois has been on the job for two years now. Under his leadership, the Tampa Bay Lightning holds the best record in the league going 105-37-10 for 220 points. He was also able to stock his team with top talent in-depth positions with Kevin Shattenkirk, Pat Maroon, and Blake Coleman.

Jim Nill has been at the helm of the Dallas Star since 2013. After some up and down years under his tenure, Nill has seemingly stabilized the ship with back-to-back top-four finishes in the tough Central Division. He’s also bolstered his squad with guys like Miro Heiskanen who’ve taken over the 2020 playoffs.

Both are worthy winners.

At first, I thought Lou should be a shoo-in, but I realized I was lumping everything he’d done as Isles GM rather than just focus on this year. I was looking at his candidacy through blue and orange lenses. So, to figure out if he really deserves the award I built myself a pros-and-cons list of Lou’s 2019-20 season.