Latest Updates on New York Islanders General Manager Search

Latest Updates on New York Islanders General Manager Search

Not a whole lot going on. I feel like it’s kind of quiet, but there are some things to run through tonight to get everyone up to date. Yeah, you’re right. It feels like we went through a fever pitch couple of weeks and now it has died down, which is probably a good thing. It doesn’t feel like it, but maybe they’ve got their nose to the grindstone and they being the owners are are doing their work to hire the right person or group of people, right, to run this organization. Yeah. So, I guess a po maybe we start with a positive news or I think we both view it as as positive. Uh Ken Holland out of the mix. Uh that’s our first bullet note. Uh we’re referencing an Arthur Staple report from two days ago, which I know that might sound dated, but honestly, that’s the latest that we really have. So, figured we’d start there. Ken Holland out of the mix, which I know neither of us were really big fans of that idea. No. And and I really want to make it clear that this isn’t about uh Ken Holland, the individual. It’s about Ken Holland building team builder philosophy. I I made a YouTube video on it kind of detailing my thoughts on on his candidacy, if you will. And I just feel like it’s way too close to Lamello 2.0, which has its merits in the right circumstance, but this is not the right circumstance. This is not the place for a Lamarello build. It’s really not. No. And it kind of just feels like this is what you just did. You had Lamarillo, the legacy guy, and you go from one legacy guy to another. Like that’s just to me it doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. But Holland being out of the mix, whether it’s his doing or the Islanders doing, I’m good with. Like I think that’s probably best for both sides, honestly. Absolutely. And this isn’t about like having one particular person that we would prefer. It’s this is very much someone that would seem counterintuitive to what the Islanders are trying to do right now post the LML era and and even then those words the postlar era where we’re not technically even in that right now because he’s still around having cigarettes in the parking lot looking like an absolute boss. That’s an alltime video. That really is. Uh, I I need to explain to you the context of how additionally more funny that video is than you probably realize. So, one, Lou walking in the parking lot and ripping a heater is just classic. But in the background of the video, like I don’t know if you noticed like these like little house looking things. Yeah. That’s called safety town. So, what safety town is essentially every I’m going to say second or third grade class in at least Nassau County. I don’t know if Suffach County went, but there was a day where essentially you’d go to safety town on a field trip and like learn the rules of the road and like when it’s okay to cross and like wow there little cars going around that you would drive through safety town and stuff. So that like just an extra element of like Long Island lore in the background of that video, it was just hilarious to me. That’s fantastic. The more I watch it, the the almost less convinced I am that it is Lou. He just looks 15 years younger. Although smoking cigarettes as long as he has, assuming that’s what he’s doing, although it really looks like it, um you think he’d be a lot older than he actually is. Or maybe he just runs on at this point. If you take him off cigarettes, he would die quicker. Yeah, his diet is berry berries and marbor or reds. That’s it. It needs it absolutely needs the tobacco or else and all the the carc carcinogenics in it or else it just collapses on itself. Um, so yeah, we’re not out technically of the LML era, but to go back into it like jumping all the way back into it by hiring a guy who effectively builds teams in the same way with the same regard and the same tools. Why would you do that? What What’s the point? Why hire the guy who does it better than this other guy to only hire the guy who does it worse? It makes makes no sense. Yeah, it it doesn’t The moral of the story is it doesn’t make much sense. So, that’s not the direction they’re going to go. Apparent Sorry, you wanted to Oh, no. I’m just sweeping my brow, thanking God that we don’t have to. Okay. Apparently, the ne the next note is that Jeff Gordon is still at top of the wish list, but not available. Any thoughts on that? I I I get why they would go after Jeff Gordon. Like, look what he’s done. Um I just move on. They they have said no, right? Like Montreal has said no, we’re good here. Move on. next. Yeah, they said no. What are we doing here? Yeah, right. Like, why are you still hung up on it? Is my essentially my question or the angle that I wanted to to take here is like they said no. Why is it always still at the top of the list? Be like, no, man. Next next man up. I I just Yeah, like Montreal has said no. And why would they why would Montreal be like, “Ah, it’s fine. Yeah, sure. Go ahead.” They just finally made the Stanley Cup playoffs. They finally reached step one of their next of their plan. They still have a few more steps they would like to hit. The maturation of that team, bringing in better players, finding a goalie, getting above just getting to the playoffs. Why would they be like, “We hit it. Yeah, you can have the guy who got us here.” What? No. Why would they do that? Yeah. I from their angle, it doesn’t make sense to let him kind of just go, right? Like that’s essentially what it would be doing. Exactly. So I get again why the Islanders are interested because he has done a good job in in bringing in young dynamic talent to build that team and finding core pieces to bring them together. Although I think that Nick Suzuki was actually Ma pickup and not a Jeff Gordon whatever other person um is is running the show there. Forget their face. Anyways, doesn’t matter. Um, still they have done a good job molding that team to get them into a playoff situation as a young team, right? Like this is step one. The team got to the playoffs. Now it’s you’re young. Build on that and so that we could be perennial playoff teams, which is kind of where the Islanders want to go. Although they don’t have to take the same route obviously as the Montreal Canadians, but again, it really comes back to they said no. next. As you as you very eloquently put it, you were thinking of Ken Hughes, by the way. Thank you. Yes. Yeah. The bald guy. The the bald one in the duo. Yeah, exactly. Um, next note scares me a little bit, Mitch. I’m not going to lie to you. Uh, Lou Learillo staying on is still a possibility. Not obviously as the GM, but as some sort of advisor to whoever they hire. I I don’t like that. I really don’t because Lululean Mel has never in his entire career given up control, right? No. What makes us think that he’s going to go He was hired as president of hockey operations to find a general manager and it took him two weeks to be like, “Nope, that’s mine, too.” Yeah. It just I don’t think anything changes if he stays around in any capacity, which is obviously not what we want. And something we’ve talked a lot about is with Lou Lamarillo leaving or you know the hope of him leaving in a way is that Chris Lamarillo is also out. Like if Lou is the adviser to insert GM here, does Chris Lamarillo then stay? Because that’s almost just his bet. I I didn’t even think of that. You’re absolutely right. That would be Katus frigraphic. Yeah. Oh my god. Even if he just stayed on his Bridgeport GM, that’d be awful, right? That’s what I mean. Like it’s just he did not do he has not never at any point in any organization done a good job with the AHL. No. Maybe removed from the element of his father he kind of like flourishes and becomes his own person. Maybe maybe he already is and this is this is it. Like you can’t we can’t have that. And then that’s why I agree with you having LML there in any sort of capacity. I don’t believe for a second he could even take a step back and relinquish control and allow someone to override his decisions. I I I won’t believe it for a second. And also too, just to piggyback off your point with Chris Lamarillo, let some other organization figure out if he’s a different guy or not without his dad. Like, let’s not have the Islanders be the test dummy for that. If you like that, make sure to subscribe to Up the Turnpike on Patreon for more exclusive New York Islanders content.

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