DALLAS — Former Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello is still employed as an advisor to owner Scott Malkin, The Post confirmed Monday following an initial report from The Athletic.
That, to be clear, does not mean Lamoriello is still involved in hockey decisions. He is not listed on the Islanders business directory, and from the day Mathieu Darche was hired, the Islanders have gone out of their way to stress that there is no one above him on the hockey side, including by giving him an executive vice president title in addition to that of general manager.
The offseason gave more evidence to that, as Darche imposed his blueprint on the team by trading Noah Dobson for a package including draft picks and Emil Heineman, signing Jonathan Drouin and Max Shabanov and extending Alexander Romanov.
Lou Lamoriello speaks before an Islander game against the Florida Panthers in Oct. 2024. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
His vision has also been evident in the front office, where Ryan Bowness has been added as assistant general manager and player personnel and Siana Sylvester was hired after the start of the season as a performance consultant. The change at goalie coach, with Piero Greco being replaced after six games by Sergei Naumovs, was also made by Darche, leaving the Islanders without anyone with ties to Lamoriello on their coaching staff.
The Islanders did not comment on whether Lamoriello is technically employed by the organization or merely in a personal capacity by Malkin.
Lamoriello in an interview with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, said that he’s spoken to Darche a few times, including “a couple lunches with him during training camp.” He also attended the last NHL Board of Governors meeting in New York City, and will go to the next one in Colorado Springs.
The 83-year-old NHL lifer did make a point of telling LeBrun that he is retired from being a general manager, and is not working at the same building as the Islanders are based out of.
“I know what the job is to be a general manager and to run a club — the independence you need,” Lamoriello told The Athletic. “You don’t need anyone looking over your shoulder. That will never happen. I support Mathieu and if he wants to talk, I’m there. I like what he’s doing. And I’m enjoying the other part of the game now.”
Per Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, the 18-game streak of scoring two goals or more to start the season, which ended in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Avalanche, was their longest such streak since 1987.
The Islanders did not practice Monday in Dallas.