Making Sense of the Islanders Executive Search Entering Week Three

The New York Islanders’ top executive seat remains open. It’s been that way since April 22. Three weeks into a new search, the fog of the search remains in place.

The Islanders dismissed Lou Lamoriello as Team President and General Manager that day, stating his contract would not be renewed. That day, the team removed him from the team website, creating a clear vacancy at the top. The NHL odds had a few candidates, but the Islanders quickly focused on one, but then Ken Holland turned down the Islanders.

Lamoriello’s picture and titles have since been restored. His influence within the organization went from 100% to zero, and now, surprisingly, back on board.

Indeed, late last week, multiple reports indicated Lamoriello could return as an advisor for a first-time GM, something that raised questions. At the time, I deflected those away, saying Lamoriello’s a great hockey person, and it doesn’t hurt to keep him around.

However, the Islanders’ seemingly efficient, smooth search has gone erratic. There’s no favorite for the job after Holland turned down the gig. They also lusted after Jeff Gorton, but Montreal was not allowing that to happen. It doesn’t seem like the powers in charge had a Plan B after those two ideas fizzled out.

So, what IS going on within the Islanders’ management structure?

Struggling Search:

In Staple’s article this morning, the Islanders are just now interviewing Marc Bergevin, Matthieu Darche, and Jarmo Kekalainen. From what I’ve heard, the Islanders had extensive talks with all three, but no formal interviews yet.

With that intel, the Islanders seem to be settling in for another set of interviews and sifting through the candidates. If that’s the case, it’s already not an ideal place. If the decision to move on from Lamoriello was not purely an emotional one, rooted in the brutal end to the season, which included a 9-2 pasting by the Rangers, then the Islanders should have had their ducks in a row.

With some candidates, like Darche, you couldn’t speak to them earlier than now. Darche’s Tampa Bay Lightning were in the playoffs. Steve Greeley is another candidate, currently a key figure within the Dallas Stars, but he is not available for talks right now.

Kekalainen and Bergevin have been available. Yes, Bergevin is an advisor for the Los Angeles Kings, but that isn’t a real issue. However, nobody in the hockey world has made any bones about this one fact: Both Bergevin and Holland hold a lukewarm interest in the Islanders’ job right now. They both want the gig with the Kings. The Islanders’ job, in their eyes, is a consolation.

Lamoriello’s Looming Presence:

After Holland’s rejection, word started to leak out that Lamoriello does not appear to be leaving the organization completely. Instead, read this excerpt from Staple’s work:

“The wrinkle in all these machinations is Lamoriello. A league source said last week that Scott Malkin, who has the final say on this hire, hopes to keep Lamoriello in some capacity.”

The only logical response to that would then be, why even publicly dismiss him then? Staple answers it by saying the Islanders hoped to lure Holland or Gorton, but failed to do so. Now, they’re walking back their dismissal, hence Lamoriello’s reappearance on the website.

Reading between the lines, if the Islanders do hire a first-time general manager, it’s grown exponentially likelier that Lamoriello retains his influence, if not his outright President of Hockey Operations title itself.

The key to it all, as it always has been, is Scott Malkin. It’s known that it took a herculean effort to convince him to announce that Lamoriello wouldn’t be retained. Now, Malkin’s got a case of cold feet, allowing Lamoriello to stick around and potentially have a hand in hiring the new general manager.

None of this then mentions one of the many elephants invited into the room by keeping Lou Lamoriello. His son, Chris, was widely expected to be dismissed from his post as AHL GM and NHL Assistant GM. If Lou’s still helping steer the shift, that becomes unlikely. Same for a host of his other hires.

What it Means:

Very quickly, the situation becomes messy. While we don’t know the specifics of the plan being executed, the external look of it all right now is not a good one. The search, which started with optimism and casting a wide net, very quickly became an extremely narrow net, fit for two targets.

After those two targets broke the net, ownership seems to have returned to their comfort zone. Lamoriello is not on his way out. By all things I’ve heard and that have been reported, Lamoriello will continue to have at least some sway within the organization.

For a candidate, this would be about as unideal a landing spot as possible. A team with one owner (John Collins) running a search, who had a major falling out with Lamoriello, is now being overruled by the majority owner (Malkin), who seems insistent on keeping Lou around in some capacity.

Jarmo Kekalainen dealt with chaos in Columbus over his decade. Bergevin, who still wants LA, dealt with his fair share of crises in Montreal. Darche has been in the most stable environment in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. As ready as he is, maybe he thinks twice about leaving his post as the top AGM in hockey and waits for a better opening.

It’s been three weeks. The Islanders won the NHL Draft Lottery a week ago. By now, you’d think the team would have its guy lined up. Instead, the ex is still in the house while new suitors are just now being formally vetted.

It could all change tomorrow, and this consternation in the Islanders’ world could disappear. But for now, the public-facing disarray is not going anywhere. For right now, it sure appears like the New York Islanders’ search for a new executive has begun to unfurl into a spiraling ball of chaos, lacking vision or direction. One foot in the past with Lamoriello, while the other tries to lurch ahead to the future.