Has Lou Lamoriello had the worst offseason of any NHL GM? Here is a list of his summer blunders
For the New York Islanders fans, there hasn't been much of anything to cheer about this summer. After finishing 5th in the Metropolitan Division and 20th overall in the NHL, the Isles parted ways with head coach Barry Trotz. This one was a real head-scratcher, considering how reputable Trotz is and has been for many years. But that's just where things started to go down hill.
Following the relpacement of Barry Trotz with Lane Lambert behind the bench in Long Island, the GM Lou Lamoriello traded the Isles' 1st round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in a deal that brought back Habs defenseman Alexander Romanov.. a player whom the Isles are yet to have signed. The Isles still have over $11M in available cap space, with Romanov, Kieffer Bellows and Noah Dobson in need of new deals, but those signings won't solve what's really wrong with the Isles. It's looking more and more like Lamoriello is a huge part of the problem. This after winning GM of the Year in 2019-20 and again in 2020-21.
Lamoriello, with his stubborn and dated methods, has yet to lure a bona-fide star player to the Island during free agency. He has a very unspectacular draft record, and he has also been on the losing end of some pretty high profile trades - most notably the deal that saw now Stanley Cup Champion Devon Toews depart in exchange for a pair of second round draft just a couple of seasons ago.
Lamoriello needed to make a splash this summer and by all accounts, he failed to do that, swinging and missing on both Johnny Gaudreau and Nazem Kadri. Reports had the Isles firmly locked on Kadri, having tabled a 7-year, $49M offer to the UFA forward. Even with that offer on the table and a familiarity between Kadri and Lamoriello, the 31-year-old chose Calgary over the Islanders.
Granted, there's still some time to work with, and Lamoriello's moves are not yet known to the public, if any have been made.. but overall, this is looking like an awful summer for Lou and the Isles. You could make a pretty convincing argument that this is actually the worst summer for any GM in the league.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 19 | 241 ANSWERS Has Lou Lamoriello had the worst offseason of any NHL GM? Here is a list of his summer blunders Has Lou Lamoriello had the worst summer of any GM? | ||
| Yes | 141 | 58.5 % |
| No | 52 | 21.6 % |
| We'll see how it all plays out this season | 48 | 19.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
