The dust has settled with the Lou Lamoriello firing, which happened on Tuesday, April 22. Now, the New York Islanders begin their search for a new general manager (GM), which is uncharted territory, or at least territory better off unexplored for this team. Since Bill Torrey, they haven’t had the best run of GM hires. It’s worth keeping in mind, the Islanders had Garth Snow as the GM before Lamoriello. Snow was GM for 12 seasons, and the team only appeared in the playoffs four times and only had one playoff series victory, but is known more for infamously giving Rick DiPietro a contract that the Islanders are still paying him for. Related: The Rise & Fall of Lou Lamoriello as Islanders GM Ironically, the DiPietro contract was given out as the team was trying to clean up the mess that previous GM Mike Milbury had made. Milbury, for those who don’t remember, traded away Roberto Luongo in 2000 and Zdeno Chara plus the second overall pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (which became Jason Spezza) for Alexei Yashin. His series of bad moves set the Islanders up for five consecutive last-place finishes in the standings while Luongo, Chara, and Spezza all became stars in that time (and at every position, nonetheless). So, for all the criticism of Lamoriello, he was a safe hire and had more success than any of the previous GMs. That leads into this hiring search. The good news for whoever they bring in is that they’ll have an ownership group that will be patient and give them time to build a contender. After all, Milbury was given 11 seasons to run the team into the ground. The Islanders could take the safe route, but isn’t that how the Lamoriello era was defined? He never took a big risk, and it slowly resulted in the team’s decline. With this in mind, going bold might be the best path, even if it backfires. The Second-Chance in the NHL The two names that come to mind are Jarmo Kekelainen and Marc Bergevin. Both former GMs have bad reputations, as many tend to have when they are fired (they wouldn’t be fired if they were doing a great job). That said, with a second chance where they’ve learned from their mistakes, they could be great hires the same way many second-chance head coaches in the NHL work out. Kekelainen is a team builder who is known for getting a team off the ground, which is what the Islanders need. They need someone who can draft and develop to create a pipeline of young talent for the NHL team. Kekelainen won’t take the next step per se, and that was his downfall with the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, he’ll at least clean up the mess Lamoriello created, especially in the farm system, which is one of the worst in the NHL. Bergevin’s lasting impression with the Montreal Canadiens is leaving the team in a downward spiral towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference, which happened in the 2021-22 season to end his tenure. It’s easy to forget how his tenure was before that. The Canadiens were a well-built team that reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, and it was possible because of some of the moves made by Bergevin. He traded Max Pacioretty for Nick Suzuki and flipped Max Domi for Josh Anderson, two moves that made a difference in the playoffs. Both hires have their risks, yet they seem like the safe bet. At the very least, the Islanders know what they’re getting from Kekelainen and Bergevin, and at best, they’ve improved since they’ve been fired. That said, the Islanders could take a bigger swing and hire someone without that NHL experience. AHL/Development Level GMs Being a GM in the American Hockey League (AHL) has its own set of challenges that can, at times, make it a tougher job than the NHL. They have to account for all the movement and combine prospects, journeymen players, and veterans looking to prove they can still make it to the NHL to form a good roster. On top of that, they are the ones monitoring the prospects and keeping a close eye on their development to know how their skill will translate to the NHL level. It’s why some of the best GMs in the NHL started out in the AHL, notably Bill Zito, Kyle Dubas, Jim Nill, and Julien BriseBois, all of whom won at that level beforehand. It’s easy to look at the gold standard in the AHL and think the GM of the best team will have success in the NHL as well. The Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup in back-to-back seasons and have done so with Brian Helmer in the front office and Todd Nelson behind the bench. Helmer, without question, has assembled a talented team that, despite providing the Washington Capitals with multiple players in recent seasons, remains the team to beat. The problem is that the Bears are known for having more money and resources to compete. NHL teams always question how good the leaders of the team are when the ownership group makes a significant impact (it’s amazing how far those chocolate bars can take you). Thomas Hickey (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers) The Texas Stars GM, Scott White, instantly comes to mind. Nill’s done a great job as the GM of the Dallas Stars, and it’s why he won the Jim Gregory Award in 2023 and 2024. However, his success wouldn’t be possible without a strong pipeline, which the AHL team provides, and White has helped bring a lot of young players up to the NHL, especially in recent seasons. He’s been the GM since 2013, and it’s hard to tell if he’s the architect or if Nill is the one calling the shots, but the Islanders should give him a call, especially if they want to fix their farm system. Then there is the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins GM, whom the Islanders should hire for a full-circle moment. It’s Spezza, who was hired by Dubas when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and went with him to the Penguins organization. The team doesn’t have a great farm system, but Spezza did a great job setting them up for a season where they looked like one of the best teams in the AHL for the majority of it (injuries at the end had them fall apart in the playoffs). He’s a younger option but one the Islanders, and many teams must consider. Hiring a Former Islander Some of the recently retired Islanders know the organization well, making it a reasonable hire. It’s why on 32 Thoughts, the idea was floated around as a possibility, even if they aren’t running the business side of the job, to at least have a role in the front office. Thomas Hickey recently retired and has been with the Islanders since his playing days, and even after retirement, as he covers the games as part of the MSG Network broadcast. The same is true about Cal Clutterbuck, who has been in the broadcast booth since the start of this season. Throw in Matt Martin, who recently retired, and the Islanders can have the “Identity Office” (now they just need to find a way to get Casey Cizikas on board). Any former player without previous front office experience is a risk, and making them a GM has the biggest downside. If Hickey or Martin isn’t built for the job, they could set the Islanders back years. Hickey’s understanding of the game makes him the best of the group to eventually become a GM, but it’s not the right move. That said, a former player should have a role within the Islanders organization. So, what hire makes the most sense? Pairing Hickey with the Bridgeport Islanders does. He can replace Chris Lamoriello in the front office and bring discipline, structure, and a winning culture, just like he brought to the Islanders as a player. Who should the Islanders hire as their GM? Let us know in the comments section below!