Confirmed with Link: Lane Lambert Named Head Coach

[Rehabguy]

Can't say it's a great sign when my first reaction was...

"Thank god it wasn't Babcock or Quenneville."

That was my reaction as well. What a joke that would have been.

 

[Rehabguy]

To think Isles posters here were enraged at Snow for keeping 3 goaltenders on the roster. Erected billboards and such stupidity.

Meanwhile the current GM fires the most successful and winninest coach since Al Arbour, someone who took us past the first round and to the Conference Finals since what 1993? And they continue to worship the guy as if he was some kind of Messiah. It’s mind boggling! In fact 4 years ago I warned Isles fans that he would make the team old and slow over time and put us in an unfavorable cap position just as he did with the Devils. You think anyone listened? Of course not it was just rage, hot takes, hyperbole, and confirmation bias.

 

[Wanderson]

Good morning, Americanos!

Any word on what will happen with Mitch Korn and the other guys of the staff?

 

[CupHolders]

To think Isles posters here were enraged at Snow for keeping 3 goaltenders on the roster. Erected billboards and such stupidity.

Meanwhile the current GM fires the most successful and winninest coach since Al Arbour, someone who took us past the first round and to the Conference Finals since what 1993? And they continue to worship the guy as if he was some kind of Messiah. It’s mind boggling! In fact 4 years ago I warned Isles fans that he would make the team old and slow over time and put us in an unfavorable cap position just as he did with the Devils. You think anyone listened? Of course not it was just rage, hot takes, hyperbole, and confirmation bias.

Don’t forget the tenuous conjecture you’ve convinced yourself as irrefutable evidence.

 

[MikeyMike01]

To think Isles posters here were enraged at Snow for keeping 3 goaltenders on the roster. Erected billboards and such stupidity.

Meanwhile the current GM fires the most successful and winninest coach since Al Arbour, someone who took us past the first round and to the Conference Finals since what 1993? And they continue to worship the guy as if he was some kind of Messiah. It’s mind boggling! In fact 4 years ago I warned Isles fans that he would make the team old and slow over time and put us in an unfavorable cap position just as he did with the Devils. You think anyone listened? Of course not it was just rage, hot takes, hyperbole, and confirmation bias.

One of those GMs is in the Hall of Fame.

 

[Rehabguy]

Don’t forget the tenuous conjecture you’ve convinced yourself as irrefutable evidence.

Funny I see myself and maybe only a couple of other posters here as the only ones who actually have a leg to stand on. Meanwhile I can’t help but laugh at how some of you Lamiorellophytes are going through the process of trying to make sense of his unexplainable actions. I knew the day would come.

 

[CupHolders]

Good morning, Americanos!

Any word on what will happen with Mitch Korn and the other guys of the staff?

Nothing yet. Korn before joining the Islanders cut back his time and was reportedly contemplating retirement.

I’m going to guess Korn leaves one way or another, and Greco stays. I have no insider information though. Just a guess.

 

[Rehabguy]

One of those GMs is in the Hall of Fame.

OJ Simpson was in the Hall of Fame, it doesn’t mean I trip all over myself worshipping or rationalizing the guys every move.

 

[Rehabguy]

Yes I am totally sure Lou made a decision based off of 3 games. This is a well thought out and informative post folks. Take note.

As ludicrous as this sounds but to me not surprisingly, both the Athletic and Newsday are reporting that the 3 games did indeed play a big part in Lou’s decision. Stupid is as stupid does.

Here’s the exact quote: Article

“And Lane was without a doubt at the top of my list of my experiences with him over the last four years and in particular not just working with him as an assistant coach, but working with him for over two weeks when he was the boss. trainer.”

I’m not saying this was Lou’s only criteria for hiring Lambert but it shouldn’t have played much of a part, if at all in his hiring process. Three games is simply not enough time to observe how a potential person coaches especially when comparing him to a guy of Trotz pedigree who worked with this team day in and day out through an 82 game grind and with tremendous success. Three games folks. Three effing games! Take note.

 

[Mike C]

But Friedman is reporting Barzal did NOT a say he wasn’t resigning if Trotz was still coach.

But if he did how bad would it be that Lou actually listened to him…?

One might say Barzal's play spoke louder than any words he may or may not have said

 

[Mike C]

ok...forget Trotz was dismissed.....say he was not going to stay beyond next year...as in was going to coach next season and move on. If at that time, Lane was the choice to replace him, would that be ok. If so, then Lane as our HC now is a good thing in so far as a hire and the right move.

Overall, i really had no one out there that intrigued me past Lane, so for me, i like the hire a lot.

I also still think there is a bit more to Trotz's dismissal not having to do with possibly losing Lane.

Definitely agree there is more to this.

 

[scott99]

I’m late to this thread. I was locked out after HF changed servers, was finally able to log back in.

I was not shocked by the Trotz firing, in fact I predicted it would happen. Based on several things:

1) Lou’s track record with hiring and firing coaches. He’s fired coaches that were in 1st place. The Isles went from the Eastern Conference Finals last year to being a lottery team this year. Lou held Trotz accountable, and there has to be accountability. Also the fact that Trotz was going into his last year, after having a bad year.

2) Trotz was awful with young players. Don’t bring up Dobson. He only stopped jerking around Dobson, after Pulock got hurt, that forced Trotz to play him. Then not only did he play, he was excellent and played big minutes, ran the power play.

Hopefully Lambert can give young players a chance to succeed with the Islanders. Wahlstrom and Bellows deserve to show they can be NHL goal scorers. Look at Bellows at the World Championships, he’s finally been given freedom to show the type of skill he has.

If the Isles make some moves, to free up some cap space, I can see Beauvillier and Bailey being moved, then hopefully they can land someone better in FA/trade. And if that fails, then Wahlstrom and Bellows should get Bailey’s and Beauvillier’s ice time, and maybe the cap space gets spent on someone like Chychrun.

I hope Lambert has some ideas on how to fix the offense. I believe the Isles were 23rd in goals for, and 5th in goals against. If we could even finish 15th in goals for, this would be a playoff team.

I found it interesting that Lou stressed that they need more offense from the defense. That’s a pretty interesting statement. Chychrun has scored 37 goals the last 3 years. Scored 18 goals during the 2020-21 season. So I would really go after him. If they can somehow get Chychrun and a scoring forward like Kevin Fiala, those would be two major moves that improve this team big time.

I would trade #13, Beauvillier and a prospect (Bolduc ?) for Chychrun and next year’s #1, Wahlstrom and a 3rd round pick for Fiala. Trade Bailey to whoever team that would take him, for a draft choice. This would give Lambert a chance to hit the road running.

 

[Mike C]

Gotta admit, the picture of Fred Gwynne and the reference to Oranthal James on back to back pages is priceless!

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

OJ Simpson was in the Hall of Fame, it doesn’t mean I trip all over myself worshipping or rationalizing the guys every move.

Wait, what?

 

[MarsTBOW]

It's very to easy to understand. The part that's hard to believe is that you have all the information on the subject.

And even if it were true, I'd have a problem that a coach as legendary as Trotz was let go in favor of a few disgruntled players...Who never would've reached the success they did without him.

The Isles let the most talented employee they had go. That isn't a recipe for success.





Well this seems to directly contradict your previous post. We went from, "Why is this so hard to understand?" to, "Who knows..."

There is always an outside chance it's something we don't know about (The "Who Knows' Part). Every Coach, Hall Of Fame or not has a "Shelf Life" and maybe Trotz reached that point with his players. I trust the G.M.. Also, Can you or anybody else talk in Absolutes here without being on the inside? The answer is NO, so I will leave it at that....

 

[Rehabguy]

I’m late to this thread. I was locked out after HF changed servers, was finally able to log back in.

I was not shocked by the Trotz firing, in fact I predicted it would happen. Based on several things:

1) Lou’s track record with hiring and firing coaches. He’s fired coaches that were in 1st place. The Isles went from the Eastern Conference Finals last year to being a lottery team this year. Lou held Trotz accountable, and there has to be accountability. Also the fact that Trotz was going into his last year, after having a bad year.

2) Trotz was awful with young players. Don’t bring up Dobson. He only stopped jerking around Dobson, after Pulock got hurt, that forced Trotz to play him. Then not only did he play, he was excellent and played big minutes, ran the power play.

Hopefully Lambert can give young players a chance to succeed with the Islanders. Wahlstrom and Bellows deserve to show they can be NHL goal scorers. Look at Bellows at the World Championships, he’s finally been given freedom to show the type of skill he has.

If the Isles make some moves, to free up some cap space, I can see Beauvillier and Bailey being moved, then hopefully they can land someone better in FA/trade. And if that fails, then Wahlstrom and Bellows should get Bailey’s and Beauvillier’s ice time, and maybe the cap space gets spent on someone like Chychrun.

I hope Lambert has some ideas on how to fix the offense. I believe the Isles were 23rd in goals for, and 5th in goals against. If we could even finish 15th in goals for, this would be a playoff team.

I found it interesting that Lou stressed that they need more offense from the defense. That’s a pretty interesting statement. Chychrun has scored 37 goals the last 3 years. Scored 18 goals during the 2020-21 season. So I would really go after him. If they can somehow get Chychrun and a scoring forward like Kevin Fiala, those would be two major moves that improve this team big time.

I would trade #13, Beauvillier and a prospect (Bolduc ?) for Chychrun and next year’s #1, Wahlstrom and a 3rd round pick for Fiala. Trade Bailey to whoever team that would take him, for a draft choice. This would give Lambert a chance to hit the road running.

These are well thought out points.

I think it wasn't so much the system, or the work ethic Barry stressed, or the fact that sometimes he wouldn't play certain inexperienced players. Sometimes that's necessary. I think the problem, if I were to make sense of this all, was that the messaging was inconsistent especially with the young players. In the middle of a game you don't single out only the young players when they make a mistake or for a certain shift were not playing within system. That standard should be the same for everyone on the team. And we've seen it a few times maybe too many where the vets are making the same mistakes that the rookies or younger players are making but they are rarely benched or forced to sit a game. This would be unsettling for me as well if I were a young player on the team because once you are brought up to play with the big club you should be treated as a professional and not singled out because of your age.

So maybe it was not so much the system or what he was asking of his players but perhaps the message was inconsistent particularly with the young players. So if agents start talking to Lou and bring up these points that their young clients are getting disgruntled and Lou talks to Barry throughout the season and maybe BT gives some pushback. Given the results of the past season, which in fairness were not completely Barry's fault for the most part, Lou might have said you know I like your system but the message was still just too inconsistent even after we had a talk and I can't afford to lose the young players seeking trades. So he keeps the system intact but brings in a "new voice" to mend things with the younger players.

My two cents.

 

[periferal]

People out here being way too casual about losing the 3rd winningest coach of all time...And acting like a 57 year old rookie coach is going to step right in and there'll be no loss of quality behind the bench.

The Isles roster is entirely average when compared with the the other 31 teams. It was Trotz that was able to compensate for the holes and lack of talent, and thus he was the #1 reason for the great successes of the last 4 years.

Now that there's no question there's going to be a drop off in the coaching (it's just a question of how much), the onus is on Lou more than ever to seriously improve the level of talent on this team. Whereas before the coaching overcompensated for the lack of talent...Now the talent must overcompensate for the lack of elite coaching.

Because forget going for the Cup, right now this roster (with Lane Lambert as coach) doesn't even look like a playoff team - Especially given the rest of the talent in the Eastern Conference. And given the lack of a prospect pool and cap space, I don't know how Lou is going to make this team into a Cup contender this offseason. And if we can't compete for the Cup then what are we doing?

 

[Rehabguy]

People out here being way too casual about losing the 3rd winningest coach of all time...And acting like a 57 year old rookie coach is going to step right in and there'll be no loss of quality behind the bench.

The Isles roster is entirely average when compared with the the other 31 teams. It was Trotz that was able to compensate for the holes and lack of talent, and thus he was the #1 reason for the great successes of the last 4 years.

Now that there's no question there's going to be a drop off in the coaching (it's just a question of how much), the onus is on Lou more than ever to seriously improve the level of talent on this team. Whereas before the coaching overcompensated for the lack of talent...Now the talent must overcompensate for the lack of elite coaching.

Because forget going for the Cup, right now this roster (with Lane Lambert as coach) doesn't even look like a playoff team - Especially given the rest of the talent in the Eastern Conference. And given the lack of a prospect pool and cap space, I don't know how Lou is going to make this team into a Cup contender this offseason. And if we can't compete for the Cup then what are we doing?

Well as you can seeI was pretty pissed off by the move but that initial anger was tempered by the fact that we got the best option available though on the surface the change of coaches seemed senseless. But given the scenario I just described it could make some sense. I don't think Trotz lost the room, nor any players, nor was he working them too hard (or maybe sometimes he was). The problem might have been the messaging where players thought their concerns were not being addressed, or younger players believing they were being singled out. I think the players believed and continue to believe in the system. I think they just wanted better or more consistent messaging from BT. I think they just wanted confirmation that they were being listened to. From what I observed in the few games I watched I this year I could see this. The system BT preaches must be exhausting for the players. It's constant work and if one of the internal sources cited by a beat reporter was correct the players thought the system was draining and maybe they needed more rest. It is very telling at the end of the year Barry specifically said that maybe he should have allowed the team to rest more during the season and he mentioned specific weeks. Perhaps this was brought up by the team to BT but he practiced them hard anyway.

The hiring of Lambert is the best scenario for the team because the way the team is constructed it is better to be playing a defense first game because the team doesn't have the type of talent that wins a run and gun type system. I do believe that with a few tweaks this is still a Cup winning team playing a defensive style game with the hard work ethic, discipline, smarts, constant forecheck pressure. This takes a certain type of player. It takes a certain kind of talent and that is what this team has been investing in all these years. So I disagree that the team is talentless. I've always disagreed with that. There is more offensive talent on this team than meets the eye, but not enough talent to overcome teams that are designed to play run and gun type games. Defense still wins in the post-season. The Islanders have that type of talent in abundance. I'm just hoping that Lambert eases up a little on the younger flashier players like Barzal, Beallivier, Bellows, and Wahlstrom and let them take the chances that could win hockey games. Personally I thought BT was too risk averse and it cost them. No guts no glory. Yes play a disciplined game but there are times during the course of a game that you have to take chances when nothings happening. There were many times during the season when I thought if BT just let Barzal be Barzal he would have had the opposition team running in circles and on their heels. He is THAT much of a potential game breaker because I don't know any player on any other team who skates like he skates. They need to use Barzal's talent more and this team will win playoff series. He can't be worried that the guy behind the bench is going to be whispering in his ear every time he tries to razzle dazzle.

 

[JKP]

People out here being way too casual about losing the 3rd winningest coach of all time...And acting like a 57 year old rookie coach is going to step right in and there'll be no loss of quality behind the bench.

The Isles roster is entirely average when compared with the the other 31 teams. It was Trotz that was able to compensate for the holes and lack of talent, and thus he was the #1 reason for the great successes of the last 4 years.

Now that there's no question there's going to be a drop off in the coaching (it's just a question of how much), the onus is on Lou more than ever to seriously improve the level of talent on this team. Whereas before the coaching overcompensated for the lack of talent...Now the talent must overcompensate for the lack of elite coaching.

Because forget going for the Cup, right now this roster (with Lane Lambert as coach) doesn't even look like a playoff team - Especially given the rest of the talent in the Eastern Conference. And given the lack of a prospect pool and cap space, I don't know how Lou is going to make this team into a Cup contender this offseason. And if we can't compete for the Cup then what are we doing?

It's only mid-May... I'd suggest we all try to relax and wait to see what transpires over the next few months. Trotz is gone. It's a fact. Our views and opinions of it are now moot. It's done. We can only look forward and see what happens.

The sky isn't really falling, let's wait and see what happens before getting too worked up about stuff.

 

[YearlyLottery]

As ludicrous as this sounds but to me not surprisingly, both the Athletic and Newsday are reporting that the 3 games did indeed play a big part in Lou’s decision. Stupid is as stupid does.

Here’s the exact quote: Article

“And Lane was without a doubt at the top of my list of my experiences with him over the last four years and in particular not just working with him as an assistant coach, but working with him for over two weeks when he was the boss. trainer.”

I’m not saying this was Lou’s only criteria for hiring Lambert but it shouldn’t have played much of a part, if at all in his hiring process. Three games is simply not enough time to observe how a potential person coaches especially when comparing him to a guy of Trotz pedigree who worked with this team day in and day out through an 82 game grind and with tremendous success. Three games folks. Three effing games! Take note.

No man you are completely right. Lou decided to make a guy head coach based on three games.

 

[Rehabguy]

No man you are completely right. Lou decided to make a guy head coach based on three games.

Put a sock in it man. I said it wasn't the sole criteria, but IT was one of the criteria. Besides if you've read my last two posts I'm easing up on Lou. Kindly do the same for me. Speaking of messaging I find it unsettling that these boards are ran so that the message agrees with only one point of view and contrary opinions are being stifled. If you're in a position to control the message kindly be neutral. I put up with a lot of Snow bashing and I took it graciously. Personally I think he's done a lot for this team building it up through the draft more than he has been given credit for. Many of his major draft picks become solid members of the current core. A little criticism on Lou and the board implodes. C'mon.

 

[MJF]

To think Isles posters here were enraged at Snow for keeping 3 goaltenders on the roster. Erected billboards and such stupidity.

Meanwhile the current GM fires the most successful and winninest coach since Al Arbour, someone who took us past the first round and to the Conference Finals since what 1993? And they continue to worship the guy as if he was some kind of Messiah. It’s mind boggling! In fact 4 years ago I warned Isles fans that he would make the team old and slow over time and put us in an unfavorable cap position just as he did with the Devils. You think anyone listened? Of course not it was just rage, hot takes, hyperbole, and confirmation bias.

Jesus Christ. We get it already. Move on. You hate that Lou is the GM.

 

[MJF]

The sky isn't really falling, let's wait and see what happens before getting too worked up about stuff.

Yes it is.

Put a sock in it man. I said it wasn't the sole criteria, but IT was one of the criteria. Besides if you've read my last two posts I'm easing up on Lou. Kindly do the same for me. Speaking of messaging I find it unsettling that these boards are ran so that the message agrees with only one point of view and contrary opinions are being stifled. If you're in a position to control the message kindly be neutral. I put up with a lot of Snow bashing and I took it graciously. Personally I think he's done a lot for this team building it up through the draft more than he has been given credit for. Many of his major draft picks become solid members of the current core. A little criticism on Lou and the board implodes. C'mon.

Why are you making this personal? People poked holes in your arguments. That's what happens on a discussion board where they can't say things face to face.

 

[mm11]

yeeesh, I'm gonna go into these summer months with an open mind and breathe. The isles players won't forget the sting this year and may come back with some chips on their collective shoulders. Won't hurt to see press clippings that they were only the product of "trotz" hockey and are a bunch of no names. These guys as a group won many playoffs games and multiple series. I do expect a NEW coach smell to motivate them. Maybe the short term boost Lou was looking for. With that fellas, enjoy the playoffs, Let's go Canes.....ummmm those Jerks...

 

[Tahoeblue]

Does this coaching change get us closer or further away from competing for a cup? What's done is done and Lambert is the guy. Hopefully he can instill the same d structure with some creativity and flexibility of generating some more offense.

There is certainly a back story on the firing that we may never know. Bottom line: Lou needs to deliver now and equip the new coach with the right ingredients of youth, speed, a transition game, and vets. There will be no one else to blame if this team falters and we are in the same position a year from now.