LONG ISLAND CITY, NY — The Islanders have promoted Lane Lambert to head coach, the New York organization announced Monday.
Lambert, 57, succeeds Barry Trotz, who was fired last week. He had been an associate coach with the Islanders since the 2018-19 season, under Trotz.
The Canadian also acted as an assistant coach in the NHL with the Washington Capitals (2014-2018) and the Nashville Predators (2011-2014).
Lambert, of Swift Current, Sask., also played for the Quebec Nordiques between 1986 and 1989.
Last week, Trotz was fired because general manager Lou Lamoriello felt the team needed a new voice.
The 59-year-old hockey player, who ranks among the most successful coaches in NHL history and won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018, guided the Islanders to the final of the Eastern Conference in each of the previous two seasons. Each time, they lost to the eventual champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
There was one season left in Trotz’s contract, which would have put him in the same position as when he led the Capitals. In the summer of 2018, the Capitals decided not to restructure Trotz’s contract, despite the championship the team had just won, and granted him his release.
A few days later, Trotz joined the Islanders, who had just picked Lamoriello to revive a franchise that hadn’t won a championship since the dynasty of the early 1980s.
With Trotz at the helm of the team, the Islanders posted records of 152-102-34 in the regular season and 28-21 in the playoffs. This is the organization’s best performance in more than two decades.
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