THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'O': Matt Maggio's Goals in Windsor and Islanders Prospects Lane Lambert [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwMTA0OTc3MTM2MzYyODcy/usatsi_19393488.jpg] Lane Lambert It’s mid-August, and most people affiliated with the NHL are somewhere at a cottage, but all of them always feel pressure of some sort. This THN.com team-by-team series identifies and examines those on some form of the hot seat, continuing with the New York Islanders. For each team, we’ll pick out one player, GM, coach or team owner to put on the hot seat as someone facing considerable pressure to put up excellent results this coming season or be relocated to their team’s doghouse. A second individual will go on the warm seat as someone who may not facing a firing or trade anytime soon but who the team has very high expectations for in 2023-24 and beyond. A third individual will be assigned to the cold seat, labeling them as highly likely to stay on their current team for a very long period. ISLANDERS’ HOT SEAT: LANE LAMBERT, COACH Lambert is entering his second season as Islanders coach. GM Lou Lamoriello has given him a lineup that isn't the most talented inside or outside their Metropolitan Division, so he’s got to find ways they can win. The Isles are capped out on the salary cap front, with a current payroll of $83.2 million in 2023-24, per PuckPedia [https://puckpedia.com/team/new-york-islanders]. Lamoriello is famous for quickly replacing his coaches, and if the Islanders wobble and disappoint, Lambert is going to be under a massive microscope and have his tactics questioned. The Isles went 42-31-9 last season and just barely squeaked into the final wild-card berth, earning it by only two standings points over the Metro's fifth-placed Pittsburgh Penguins. That’s where we expect they’ll be in 2023-24 – only this time, it could be the Islanders on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. If that’s how it goes for the Isles, Lambert could get the chop from Lamoriello. Most of their lineup is locked in for the long term, and it’s always much easier to change direction by taking out the coach instead of the players. Coaching is a cutthroat business, and Lambert is well aware of the extremely high stakes he’s dealing with this season. To keep his job safe, Lambert has to deliver at least another Stanley Cup playoff appearance – and once he’s there, he must guide them far past the first round. Lamoriello’s itchy trigger finger when it comes to coaches should always give Lambert pause to appreciate his current surroundings. It could all end relatively quickly for him if his team underachieves. ISLANDERS’ WARM SEAT: MATHEW BARZAL, F Don’t get all angsty from this choice. We’re not suggesting Barzal is in any real danger of being traded. But he’s now the Isles’ top-paid player, with a cap hit of $9.15 million. It’s been close for him sometimes, but Barzal hasn’t been able to be a point-per-game performer the way he was in his rookie season of 2017-18. In 2022-23, he missed 24 games, and he posted only 14 goals and 51 points in 58 contests. Considering his salary, that’s not an ideal contribution from your key weapon on offense. That’s basically a bare-minimum level of the expectations that accompany a huge cap hit. A full year on the same line as star center Bo Horvat and Anders Lee should bump Barzal’s numbers up. If that doesn’t happen, it’s not going to be good news for the Islanders’ playoff ambitions. The team probably will go as far as superstar goalie Ilya Sorokin carries them, but Barzal can alleviate the pressure on the netminder by backing him with increased production on offense. If Barzal does ascend to a new personal-best level, the Isles very well could corral a wild-card playoff berth. ISLANDERS’ COLD SEAT: ILYA SOROKIN, G Let’s just get to the heart of the Islanders: Sorokin is their MVP, their salvation in their defense zone, a second-team all-star last season and a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best netminder. And he’s doing it for arguably the best-value contract in the game, earning only $4 million for 2022-23 and '23-24. Very impressively, Lamoreiello got Sorokin’s signature on a contract extension that carries a $8.25-million cap hit for eight years [https://puckpedia.com/player/ilya-sorokin], from 2024-25 through the 2031-32 season. That’s an excellent pact for the team and a relief of sorts for Sorokin, who will have a full no-move clause fir the first half of that extension. The second half of that eight-year deal has a modified no-trade clause, but we suspect the 28-year-old Russian will remain on Long Island for at least the end of his new deal. He’s elite in the most important position on the team, and he’s going to continue making it very difficult for opponents to score. Nobody deserves more job security on the Isles as Sorokin does.
