Lou Lamoriello Returning As Islanders General Manager; Core, Maybe Not

Lou Lamoriello will be back as New York Islanders general manager. Here's what he had to say about the team and, more importantly, about his core.

EAST MEADOW, NY -- The feeling following the 2023-24 season was that if New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello wanted to be back, he'd be back.

And that's exactly the case, as Lamoriello told us on Friday morning that he and head coach Patrick Roy, would be returning. 

The 2024-25 season will be Lamoriello's seventh season on Long Island, and his 37th season as a general manager in the National Hockey League. 

"The two gentlemen that are up here, we'll be back next year. You'll have nothing else to write about now.”

Challenge accepted. 

The failure to add at the 2024 NHL Draft and the quick bounce from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs may have had people thinking this was it for the 81-year-old, but the hiring of Patrick Roy mid-season gave us a hint that Lamoriello would be back.

Why else would ownership allow him to fire and hire another coach? 

"My conversations (with ownership) are very simplistic," Lamoriello said. "They're as committed as ever. Ownership believes in the group that we have here and gives us every opportunity to succeed through the support that's given. Also, whatever we need, we're able to get."

Now, it's about making changes to a team that definitely needs them, and Lamoriello, as he always voices, is focused on bolstering this team where he can.

"There's no question decisions have to be made every year. You certainly reflect on what's transpired over the last couple of years, two years, two years in a row, so to speak. But there has been a major change already," Lamoriello said regarding his move to bring Roy aboard. "And we'll make whatever changes have to be made. There's there's nothing sacred. There's nothing that won't be done. But it does take two to make those changes. And they'll be made appropriately if the opportunity is there, but we're not going to just make a change for the sake of change.”

Roy's arrival was certainly a huge step in getting the franchise playing the way today's NHL needs to be played, and Lamoriello, who shared that he "put Patrick in a very difficult situation, coming in at the time he came in," was pleased with what he saw. 

“I don’t think he could have done any better," Lamoriello said. "He exceeded all expectations that I might have had, even though I had high expectations.”

Since Lamoriello came to Long Island ahead of the 2018-19 season, the Islanders have made the playoffs in five of the last six seasons but have also been cap-strapped, failing to improve the team. 

This has made it harder to become strong enough to truly compete for a Stanley Cup.

The positive for Lamoriello and the Islanders is that, despite being one of the older teams in the league, there's a core in place. 

Forwards Mathew Barzal, 27, and Bo Horvat, 29, are locked up long-term, along with goalie Ilya Sorokin, 28, who will enter the first year of an eight-year deal in 2024-25. 

Defenseman Noah Dobson, who at 24 was in the Norris Trophy conversation for most of the season, can and is expected to sign a long-term deal along with his 24-year-old defense partner, Alexander Romanov. 

Forward Brock Nelson, who scored 30-plus goals for a third straight season, and forward Kyle Palmieri, who reached the 30-goal mark for the second time in his career, both have one year left on their deal. 

Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each have two years left, Pierre Engvall has six years left, while defensemen Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Scott Mayfield are all signed through 2029-30. 

However, Lamoriello couldn't say definite "yes" to the question of whether the current core was strong enough to take this team to the next level.

“I don't know if I can answer that question. First of all, change is inevitable. It's obvious. We do look at the roster," Lamoriello said. "There are some younger players coming in. They’re going to demand more ice time, and we will make whatever changes are necessary to get better. Are we satisfied where we are? Absolutely not. We will make whatever changes that we're able to make to make this a better team.”

Outside of the core, a few holes need to be addressed for the team to move forward. 

Barzal and Horvat need another player on their line, and if both remain, Nelson and Kyle Palmieri do, as well. 

With the veterans on the backend not getting younger, the club also needs to add another strong top-two-pairing defenseman to take some weight off players like Pelech and Mayfield. 

The Islanders currently have $6.34 million in available cap space before anyone is re-signed, so we will see if this is the summer when Lamoriello can create more cap space by moving some of his bigger-term contracts, signing some top-flight free agents, and, maybe, just maybe, holding on to pick No. 18 unless he can acquire someone who can help the team now and down the line.