Staple: Does anyone want to be an Islanders exec? What I'm hearing about a fraught search

New York Times

12-05-2025

The New York Islanders will fill their vacant general manager position. At this point, that's about all we can be certain of.
A process that seemed to be moving along fluidly now … isn't, according to sources around the league. And the prospect of principal owner Scott Malkin keeping Lou Lamoriello beyond June 30, when Lamoriello's contract as president and general manager expires, looms over the search.
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Malkin and co-owners Jon Ledecky, John Collins and Oliver Haarmann — a league source indicated that Haarmann has been involved in this process of finding a new GM, along with the other three — have not necessarily widened the search that began three weeks ago, but the list of highly desired candidates seems to have dwindled.
Here's what I've learned in the past week and where this might be headed:
• Ken Holland was the Islanders' top choice to sign on as president and/or GM, but league sources said he is talking to the Los Angeles Kings about their vacant GM job. The Islanders likely would have given Holland the dual title that Lamoriello holds, but Holland might prefer to stay on the West Coast, closer to family.
The Kings, which lost for the fourth consecutive season to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs (Holland's former team), are thought by many around the league to be better situated for a new GM than the Islanders, which is a front office and roster requiring bigger repairs than L.A.
If Holland doesn't get the Kings job, I don't think he's closed the door entirely on the Islanders, but it seems an unlikely pairing at the moment.
• The Islanders ownership group had a keen interest in talking to Montreal Canadiens vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, but that won't be happening, as colleague Pierre LeBrun reported last week. Gorton and the Canadiens are happy with their situation. Had he been available, Gorton was likely the Islanders' top choice over Holland.
• According to league sources and reports, Kings adviser and former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen and Tampa Bay Lightning assistant GM Mathieu Darche are in the mix and could be holding interviews with the Islanders this week. Bergevin is a candidate for the Kings job, but if he loses out to Holland, he would be near the top of the Isles' wish list.
• Leafs president Brendan Shanahan still has no extension in place, but the Islanders are not interested in bringing in Shanahan at the moment. LeBrun reported that the Islanders might be waiting on a couple of potential candidates whose seasons aren't over yet, but that doesn't apply to Shanahan.
• The wrinkle in all these machinations is Lamoriello. A league source said last week that Malkin, who has the final say on this hire, hopes to keep Lamoriello in some capacity. Most likely, that would be as an adviser to whoever takes the GM job. If the Islanders had gotten Holland to say yes or gotten to pitch Gorton, those two would have taken both titles that Lamoriello currently holds, so that wouldn't have left room for the 82-year-old to stay on.
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However, now that the Islanders are talking to candidates who they might not see holding both jobs, a spot for Lamoriello might make sense for Malkin. That might not make as much sense for a potential GM, as one executive, who is not an Islanders candidate, with another team said last week: 'That's Lou's team. It's going to be tough to make it your own with him still there.'
Other potential issues with Lamoriello remaining in the Islanders front office are whether a new GM wants to replace assistant GMs Chris Lamoriello, Lou's son, or Steve Pellegrini, as well as any of the scouting and development staff that Lamoriello has overseen for seven years, as well as what to do with coach Patrick Roy, who has three years left on his contract.
Lamoriello gave Roy that three-year extension after the 2023-24 season, and Malkin and Co. might not want to pay Roy to go away just yet. That could take another decision out of a new GM's hands.
Lamoriello has advised dozens of GMs in an unofficial way over the years. He's almost always the first fellow GM to reach out when a first-time executive takes over another team, offering support and advice. If he were joining a new team in an advisory role, it would be ideal. Here, though, it's fraught and could be a reason this job is still available after three weeks, including a week in which the Islanders won the draft lottery.
(Photo of Ken Holland: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)