The Islanders made it official on Tuesday morning, announcing their hire of legendary Lou Lamoriello as President of Hockey Operations, in which, the statement said, “He will have full authority over all hockey matters with the organization.”
Lamoriello, who won three Stanley Cups with the Devils, just finished a three-year stint as general manager of the Maple Leafs. Per his contract, he was supposed to segue into a role as a senior consultant, but Toronto granted him permission to speak with the Islanders, and a deal was soon consummated.
“We are grateful to [chairman] Larry Tanenbaum and the Toronto Maple Leafs for their courtesy in allowing this move,” Isles managing partner Scott Malkin said in a statement. “We are committed to giving Lou every resource and the full support of the entire organization as we pursue our program to compete at the highest level.”
There was no immediate information given on the status of current Islanders GM Garth Snow, who has had a tumultuous 12-year run, or second-year head coach Doug Weight. It’s now clear their collective fate is in the hands of Lamoriello.
It was announced earlier Tuesday that Toronto’s assistant GM under Lamoriello, Mark Hunter, was leaving the organization after the young Kyle Dubas was named as Lamoriello’s successor. It is believed Hunter will not be allowed to take another job until after the free-agency period ends.
The 75-year-old Lamoriello is also joining his son, Chris, who worked with him in New Jersey and was hired by Snow as Islanders assistant GM in August 2016.
“I am excited to join such a storied franchise and look forward to working with Scott Malkin and the entire New York Islanders organization,” Lamoriello said in the statement.