Stagnation & Key Mistakes: Why the Islanders Moved on From Lou Lamoriello

The big shoe dropped earlier this afternoon when the New York Islanders announced they decided to fire Team President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello after seven years at the helm.

Lamoriello entered in May, drafted Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson in the first round, then failed to re-sign John Tavares after inheriting Garth Snow’s bungled-up situation.

From the abyss during the summer of 2018, Lamoriello exalted the Islanders, clinching playoff berths in 2019, 2020, and 2021, winning two GM of the Year awards in 2020 and 2021. The Islanders came within one game of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, ultimately falling in game 7 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In the four seasons since, the Islanders missed the playoffs twice, fired two coaches, and won three playoff games. Despite some highs in that time, including acquiring and extending Bo Horvat, the Islanders’ on-ice performance continued to decline.

Lamoriello is one of the most respected people in the industry. Dan Milstein, a major player agent in the NHL, went public today with his praise for Lamoriello. At 82 years old, this could be it for Lamoriello as an executive in the NHL.

The Islanders themselves praised Lamoriello in their statement: “The Islanders extend a heartfelt thank you to Lou Lamoriello for his extraordinary commitment over the past seven years. His dedication to the team is in line with his Hall of Fame career.”

Here’s what went into the decision today:

#1: Decreasing Attendance and Lack of Fan Confidence

One of the biggest reasons for Lamoriello’s ouster is the growing discontent amongst the Islanders fanbase, coupled with plummeting attendance. It was just four days ago that Newsday, the largest paper on Long Island, ran a major story titled:

“Islanders Fans Blame Team’s Poor Play for Drop in UBS Arena Attendance.”

The subtext to that is Lamoriello’s failure to deliver on meaningful change. While the Islanders locker room is heralded for its tight-knit family feel, it’s one that began to see decreased success. A lot of that may be due to injury, sure. None of that matters to the fans.

This year, the Islanders averaged filling just 93.4% of the building, a figure based on tickets sold. Even in the decreased attendance, fans regularly chanted “Fire Lou” as it became overly apparent they would miss the playoffs.

With declining ticket sales and a team declining in success, the fans’ voices were made loud and clear. At the end of the day, this is a business. The customer dissatisfaction became too much to ignore.

#2: Bad Contracts and Indecision

As the 2021 run ended, multiple players needed new contracts. Lamoriello bet big, extending Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Mathew Barzal long-term. Pelech and Pulock have not played full seasons, thanks to freak injuries, since inking their deals. The commitment to those core pieces felt justified, even if the deals for the defensemen came at a serious long-term cost.

Then came 2023. At the deadline, Lamoriello could’ve traded Scott Mayfield for a first-round pick and kicked off a retool. He acquired Bo Horvat in late January, a necessary move regardless of his decisions with Mayfield and other pending UFAs. Instead of recouping some assets after buying hard for the highly coveted Horvat, Lamoriello doubled down. He brought in Pierre Engvall, and the team surged into the playoffs.

Then came July 1, 2023. That became Lamoriello’s biggest bet on this core yet. Pierre Engvall seemed to fit right in. Most forecasted a modest extension. Lamoriello signed him to a seven-year deal. Scott Mayfield, one of the top free-agent defensemen, stayed home on an equally large seven-year contract. Semyon Varlamov signed a brand new four-year deal.

None of those contracts are aging as planned. Engvall is a prime candidate to be bought out. Mayfield found himself healthy-scratched at times, and could be moved on from this summer. Semyon Varlamov suffered a season-ending injury in November, with some questions about potential long-term effects put to bed by Varlamov this past weekend.

In 2024 and this year, he continued to bet on his core. He turned up his nose at offers for Brock Nelson at the 2024 Trade Deadline and NHL Draft, before ultimately, Nelson would not re-sign. Lamoriello was forced to deal him to Colorado. The Islanders could have traded Kyle Palmieri, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and even captain Anders Lee, but ultimately hung onto all three.

Palmieri remains a pending UFA. Lamoriello did not commit to a retool or any general direction, setting the Islanders adrift to a playoff miss. Lamoriello paid for his indecision with his job.

#3: Coaching Woes

In the wake of the playoff miss in 2022, Lamoriello made a huge call. He fired future Hall of Fame Coach Barry Trotz in order to promote his associate, Lane Lambert. Beyond firing Trotz, Lamoriello also dismissed Jim Hiller, then an assistant with the Islanders and well-regarded around the league.

He’s enjoying a very successful tenure with the Los Angeles Kings as their head coach.

The Islanders failed to recreate any magic with Lambert, who was fired midway through his second season. That’s a big mistake by Lamoriello, one the franchise still hasn’t fully recovered from. Lamoriello hired Patrick Roy to replace Lambert. Roy helped coach the Islanders into the playoffs in 2024, but took a step backward this year and missed.

The Islanders had historically bad special teams for the first three months, with the units headed up by Lamoriello-hired John MacLean (PP) and Tommy Albelin (PK). Albelin fixed the penalty kill, and Adam Pelech effusively praised him and the rest of the coaching staff in his end-of-year interview.

MacLean has not found success with the power play. The fate of the entire coaching staff remains in flux at this time, but the owners would not allow Lamoriello to hire a third coach since 2022.

#4: It Just Became Time for a Change

Ultimately, the need for a change became the biggest reason for a move. Lamoriello is undoubtedly the most successful Islanders executive since Bill Torrey.

Lamoriello saved this franchise from potential collapse in 2018, when the team could have cratered and its reputation never recovered from losing Tavares. Instead, Lamoriello revived the franchise. His trades to bring in players like Bo Horvat, Pageau, and Palmieri were some of his best moves. Veterans like Leo Komarov, Travis Zajac, and Andy Greene all played key roles in deep runs for the Islanders.

Ultimately, Lamoriello’s gravest sin with the Islanders became loyalty to a fault. He flipped the younger Devon Toews to avoid moving on from Nick Leddy in 2020, a move that turned out to be the canary in a coal mine for things to come.

Lamoriello’s loyalty to his core he built became his undoing. While he and Lambert ruthlessly cast aside Josh Bailey, other long-term players received massive extensions over any type of roster overhaul. Slow, plodding moves like dumping Nick Leddy to Detroit and exposing Jordan Eberle to the expansion draft represented the slow turnover of the roster.

Fans grew discontent while the on-ice product deteriorated. The Islanders sank to the NHL’s mushy middle and seemed stuck with no direction under Lamoriello. In Bridgeport, the B-Islanders had a historically bad season, especially at home.

Ultimately, it became a point a no return. With John Collins (a brilliant business mind) settled in as a minority owner, he heads up the search as a new era begins on Long Island.