Islanders President/GM Updates: Who is the Favorite for the Job?

The dust is beginning to settle on Long Island. In the last 36 hours since the New York Islanders won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery, the vacancies at the top of the hockey operations department have become a league-wide talking point.

Yesterday, I added my two cents on who to hire after the Montreal Canadiens ruled out allowing Jeff Gorton to leave their organization. Since then, information has exploded publicly, with Arthur Staple, Pierre LeBrun, and Elliotte Friedman adding their intel to the mix.

So, who is the leader in the clubhouse, and where does the search stand?

Ken Holland- Favorite for the Job?

Every reported piece of information between this morning and yesterday afternoon indicates there’s one man at the top of the list: Ken Holland.

Holland, 70 in November, has held a high-level executive job in the NHL since the 1980s, including 30+ years with the Detroit Red Wings, before a shorter stint with the Edmonton Oilers that concluded last season.

Holland won three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings as GM (1998, 2002, 2008). The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him as a builder in 2020. Like Lou Lamoriello, his most recent ultimate triumph was over a decade ago. Ironically, Holland’s last cup (2008) is further away from the present day (~17 years) than Lamoriello’s 2003 cup was when the Islanders hired him in 2018 (~15 years).

Holland’s stint in Edmonton can best be described as a mixed bag. With prime Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, he failed to ever fix the goaltending. He signed Jack Campbell to a disastrous deal while putting his faith in streaky goaltenders like Mike Smith and Stuart Skinner.

His ability to take a team that Peter Chiarelli left rudderless and directionless and turn it into what he did is impressive. The biggest gripe many Oilers fans had with him is the fact that he seemed far too passive during McDavid’s prime years, not truly going for it until the final two seasons. In those, he traded first-round picks for Matthias Ekholm and Adam Henrique. Before that, his most significant trade would be acquiring Duncan Keith in July of 2021.

Concerns with Holland:

Holland’s tenure ended on a high note. On the back of a historic playoff performance by McDavid, the Oilers reached the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, but ultimately lost to the Florida Panthers. Holland made some very shrewd trades with the Oilers, but his inability to build a winner with two generational players is a big cause for concern.

There’s also the angle some fans have taken- why even fire Lamoriello just to hire Holland? I understand that sentiment, but I’d disagree with it. Holland’s still over a decade younger than Lamoriello, and did get the Oilers as close as a team could possibly come to winning a Stanley Cup without winning it.

The other concern is tied to who he’d hire. It’s the worst-kept secret in the world: he will be bringing his son, Brad, wherever he goes. Brad Holland worked for the Oilers first as a scout, then jumped to assistant manager under his father for the final two years in Edmonton. For the Islanders to go from one father-son regime to another would not strike some fans.

After he left, the Oilers lost Phillip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets. Here, the Edmonton Journal levies the blame on Holland, stating he had been “instructed to sign them both” back in January, but doubted their potentials.

The Positives:

Holland would also, reportedly, try to bring Ryan Martin from the New York Rangers across town. Martin worked for Holland in Detroit from 2005 until Holland’s departure in 2019.

Martin has served as an AHL General Manager and Assistant GM, the same hats Chris Lamoriello currently wears, every season since the 2012-13 season.

Under Martin, the Grand Rapids Griffins won two Calder Cup Championships (AHL Championship) and made the playoffs in all but his final two seasons over nearly a decade. With the Rangers, Martin holds the same titles, AGM and AHL GM.

Under his leadership, the Hartford Wolf Pack made the playoffs in just two of his four seasons. Hartford’s finished above Bridgeport in all but one season, Martin’s first with the Wolf Pack. That year, Bridgeport finished one point ahead.

Some have tapped Martin as a GM of the future, and perhaps Holland would bring him in on that AGM, AHL GM role.

My Take:

Holland would be a steady hire. As shown by his Edmonton tenure, don’t expect massive trades very often. Only when he thinks his team can win. He would build out the team’s staff, something we know the owners want done, while controlling the ship. Holland is, obviously, widely respected around the league.

Based on what I’ve seen and heard, the Holland hire is the safest move for the Islanders. If Holland doesn’t want to be GM, he could hire Martin or his son to do so. Or, he could hire Mathieu Darche from Tampa Bay, or any number of assistants.

Holland’s biggest mistake in Detroit was clinging to the past and not kicking into a rebuild/retool sooner. His biggest mistake in Edmonton was not going all-in soon enough. With the Islanders, he would have to be more aggressive than he’s shown in some time as a GM.

Other Candidates:

From Pierre LeBrun and Arthur Staple’s reporting, it’s clear the Islanders desperately want to, at least, talk to Jeff Gorton from Montreal. As of now, Montreal is not allowing that request.

Elsewhere, Marc Bergevin remains an option. Luc Robataille, the Los Angeles Kings’ President, did not offer any information and referred to Bergevin as Blake’s guy.

The most interesting line from LeBrun’s article is this: “The Islanders also want to speak to candidates who are currently not available because their teams are still in the playoffs.”

Who could they be? One is assuredly Brandon Pridham, currently Toronto’s AGM. The Islanders don’t seem to be in any rush to make this hire, even if this situation warrants it. LeBrun also confirms Darche is in the mix for a job with the Islanders, despite his lack of GM experience.

Through two weeks, the search remains wide open.