Lou Lamoriello will not return to the New York Islanders as president and general manager.
The Islanders said in a statement the 82-year-old’s contract would not be renewed.
Operating partner John Collins will lead a search to find the next GM.
“The Islanders extend a heartfelt thank you to Lou Lamoriello for his extraordinary commitment over the past seven years,” the team said in a statement. “His dedication to the team is in line with his Hall of Fame career.”
Lamoriello was with the Islanders for seven seasons. His 1,470 wins as GM of the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs and Islanders are second in NHL history behind David Poile (1,533). Lamoriello’s 325 Stanley Cup Playoff games are most by any NHL GM and his 172 wins are second to Glen Sather’s 187.
New York made the playoffs five times since Lamoriello was hired May 22, 2018, including the third round in 2020 and 2021, losing Game 7 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinal 1-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It lost the 2024 Eastern Conference First Round in five games to the Carolina Hurricanes, one year after losing in six to the same opponent.
The Islanders (35-35-12) were eliminated from playoff contention with a 4-3 shootout loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on April 12. They finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division, and 31st on the power play (72.2 percent) and penalty kill (72.2 percent).
Potential unrestricted free agents include forwards Kyle Palmieri, Matt Martin and Hudson Fasching, and defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Mike Reilly. Forwards Maxim Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom and Marc Gatcomb, and defensemen Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, Adam Boqvist, and Scott Perunovich can become restricted free agents July 1.
Brock Nelson, a pending UFA, was traded to the Colorado Avalanche on March 6, a deal that returned forward Calum Ritchie, a first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in 2028. Cole Eiserman, chosen No. 20 in the 2024 NHL Draft, had 36 points (25 goals, 11 assists) in 39 games as a freshman at Boston University and helped the Terriers reach the NCAA championship game, a 6-2 loss to Western Michigan.
Lamoriello became coach of the men’s hockey team at his alma mater, Providence College, in 1968 and named athletic director in 1982. He was the first commissioner of Hockey East, a position he held from 1984 until leaving to become Devils president and GM in 1987. He helped build the Devils teams that reached 100 points 13 times, won nine division titles, qualified for the playoffs 21 times, the Stanley Cup Final five times and won the Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003. New Jersey clinched 13 consecutive postseason berths from 1997-2010, was 1,093-759-179 (109 ties) in the regular season and 136-116 in the playoffs.
Lamoriello coached the Devils for 50 games in 2005-06 (32-14-34) and the final three games of the 2006-07 season, with New Jersey qualifying for the playoffs in each of them. He left the Devils on July 23, 2015, after 28 years and was named GM of the Maple Leafs the same day. His Toronto teams went 118-95-33 in three seasons and improved each season, won the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery and used the No. 1 pick on Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs announced April 30, 2018, that Lamoriello would not return but he remained as a senior adviser before joining the Islanders.
Lamoriello was GM of the United States team that won the World Cup of Hockey 1996 and played at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder in 2009, and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame three years later. He was also instrumental in the opening of UBS Arena beginning with the 2021-22 season.
