REPORT: NY Islanders to offer Lou Lamoriello a contract extension

The New York Islanders remain quiet, but that doesn't mean decisions have not been made.

According to Andrew Gross in Newsday, indications are that President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Lou Lamoriello is expected to be back along with head coach Lane Lambert. After player exit interviews and internal deliberation, the belief is that the 80-year-old executive is reportedly being offered a new three-year contract. It had been widely believed but never confirmed by Lamoriello or the organization that his original five-year contract was up after this season.

Gross adds that if and when the contract is signed, it doesn't mean that the Islanders will be a formal announcement, but rather just conduct business as usual with Lamoriello at the helm and Lambert back behind the bench for his second season as head coach.

Given the ineptitude of the power play during the regular season and the team's first-round playoff loss, we'll wait to find out whether a decision has been made to bring John MacLean back to coach the power play after finishing 30th in the league in percentage and tied for the last in goals scored.

The silence from the Islanders in recent weeks has led to wide-range speculation amongst fans as to what ownership would decide is the most appropriate move for the franchise after failing to build upon back-to-back deep playoff runs. The team making the playoffs was a step forward, but it can't be ignored that the team needed help in the final days of the year after an uneven regular season that had them on the outside of the playoff picture in late January.

Co-owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin have shown unwavering support publicly to Lamoriello over the last two seasons, citing his three Stanley Cups and back-to-back Jim Gregory Awards in 2020 and 2021 as the best General Manager in the NHL. Lamoriello undoubtedly has helped change the Islanders' culture and has done so in a way that should be sustainable even when he is no longer the man in charge. However, it seems that for now, that's a position neither he nor ownership wants.

There is still the possibility that at some point Lamoriello relinquishes GM responsibilities and appoints a successor from internal candidates, including his son Chris Lamoriello, or could external across the wide-network of relationships he has across the league, which includes Kyle Dubas, the Toronto GM who's contract is up in June. The 37-year-old's future is uncertain after the Maple Leafs again fell short of expectations and were eliminated in five games by the Florida Pathers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.