Islanders get their guy, Lou Lamoriello to run hockey operations

After a long month of rumors and whispers surrounding the New York Islanders and Lou Lamoriello, it’s now almost official.  As per Arthur Staple of The Athletic and Incarcerated Bob, Lamoriello will join the Islanders in an executive role.  What executive role is still to be determined, but as E.J. Hradek of NHL Network stated “If Lou is coming, he’s running the show”.

We speculated this move here at Double G Sports but now that it’s actually happened, there’s a lot to break down.  What will this mean for current GM Garth Snow?  As stated many times before, he has an iron clad buyout clause in his current contract thanks to former majority owner Charles Wang.  Snow and Lou Lamoriello have been pals for a while but can they get along while working together?  Garth isn’t exactly the most pleasant man so it’s to be determined.  There are also many other things to think about now.

It only helps with John Tavares

According to World 30, a French-Canadian website, Lamoriello has already gone up to Canada to speak with Tavares personally.  This news came out before the news was broken, so Lou must have known something and must have already gotten permission by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It helps having Lou on board for two reasons;  One, it brings legitimacy to what has been a Mickey Mouse organization for many years.  Two, it shows Tavares that the Islanders are willing to make changes to bring him back.  Having one of the best minds in hockey, regardless of age, is extremely important.  Lamoriello brings a lengthy and successful resume to the Islanders and was the architect of the great Devils’ teams of the 90’s and 2000’s.

The Islanders need a no-nonsense guy at the top

Lou Lamoriello for a lack of a better word, is a hardass.  He, like the New York Yankees, has a no facial hair policy that was most recently followed by the Leafs.  He brings a sternness to the Islanders that just hasn’t been there over the years.  Sure, Garth Snow isn’t pleasant, but there’s a difference between being stern and being surly.

According to many people within the hockey community, Lamoriello is the hardest working executive in hockey.  He has his hand in every aspect of personnel decisions and like I said before brings a lot of success with him.  Some may think he’s over the hill because he’s a bit older and his Leafs’ team has some bad contracts on it, but he was the best man available for the job and joins his son Chris, who is currently an assistant GM.

A no-nonsense attitude is exactly what the Islanders need.  They’ve been meandering in mediocrity for too long not to have that.  It shows that the Islanders owners are at least listening a little bit and are willing to make a change.  This organization has been run ass backwards for far too long and having a new home in Belmont and a new man in charge will do wonders for the Islanders.

It’s not Garth Snow

At this point most Islander fans would have been happy bringing Mike Milbury back.  I kid, but Garth Snow’s antics got old five seasons ago.  With one series win in 12 years as GM it was time for a change, and Lou is the man to bring legitimacy back to the Islanders.

The billboards of “Snow Must Go” and all of the chants may not have done anything significant but it definitely opened the owners’ eyes to just how bad things have gotten.  Having things stay status quo would have affected their bottom line, as Islanders fans would have most definitely felt slighted and would not have showed up to games.  The last thing Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin need is to open up that shiny new arena at Belmont to a half-filled crowd.

There’s still a ton of work to be done, but the Islanders are at least trending in the right direction,  Bringing a guy like Lou Lamoriello in was just a pipe dream the past few years.  Ding-dong the Snow witch is dead, and King Lou is taking over.  The first order of business is signing that John Tavares guy.  After that, shoring up the defense and goaltending.  It’s not going to be easy, but nothing ever is in hockey.  Just know Islander fans, that you’re in good hands.