Lou Lamoriello out as Islanders GM in seismic shift after ugly season

Lou Lamoriello said that there would be changes this summer.

The first change the Islanders made was to show Lou Lamoriello the door.

Owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky pulled the trigger on Tuesday, letting the president and general manager go to begin what will be a seismic shift in an organization that has been dominated by Lamoriello’s presence since he was hired in 2018.

Per the team’s announcement, operating partner and minority owner John Collins will lead the search for the club’s next general manager.

Head coach Patrick Roy as well as the team’s hockey operations staff will meet with the new general manager once one is hired to determine their futures, a team spokesman confirmed to The Post.

Lamoriello did not respond to a phone call or text from The Post on Tuesday.

“The Islanders extend a heartfelt thank you to Lou Lamoriello for his extraordinary commitment over the past seven years,” the team’s statement said. “His dedication to the team is in line with his Hall of Fame career.”

A 35-35-12 record in 2024-25 that saw the Islanders miss the playoffs for the second time in four seasons, with the roster stagnating for the duration, was enough for ownership to take decisive action.

Lamoriello, who turns 83 in October, leaves the Islanders with a mixed legacy, having piloted the team’s greatest era since the Dynasty from 2018-21 before presiding over its decline from 2021-25.

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His 1,479 career wins are the second most for any general manager in NHL history, behind only David Poile, and it would be unsurprising to see him pursue another job despite his age.

His departure marks the end of an era.

Every piece of the Islanders organization was touched by Lamoriello. He was the be-all and end-all, from his no-facial-hair policy that prompted eye rolls around the league to the team’s marketing, which operated under strict guidelines not to emphasize individual players.

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The club’s social media and community engagement were also restrained, with Lamoriello wanting players’ focus during the season to be exclusively on hockey.

He also played a major role in the construction of UBS Arena, a building the Islanders had sought for decades, and in guiding the club through the traumatic experience of losing John Tavares in free agency.

Hiring Barry Trotz as head coach and building an eventual two-time conference finalist that was just a shorthanded goal away from the Islanders’ first Stanley Cup Final since 1984 gave Lamoriello a legacy on Long Island that’s likely to outlive the mediocrity of his last few seasons.

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The questions now turn to what’s next.

There is no shortage of names being thrown around league circles for the job already, and Collins is expected to lead an expansive search.

One that consistently came up in conversations on Tuesday was Ken Holland, the four-time Cup winner over 22 seasons with the Red Wings, who left a job with the Oilers at the end of last season.

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It’s worth noting, however, that the 69-year-old Holland is from the same old school of management as Lamoriello, so if the Islanders are looking to shift the tenor of the organization, that may not be the way to do so.

Collins, who was the NHL’s COO for nearly eight years, also must decide whether to hire two different people for president of hockey operations and general manager or continue entrusting one person with the job.

Once someone is hired, the to-do list will be enormous.

There is a need to build out a front office that has long been one of the smallest in the league in terms of staffing.

The Islanders roster is also in a tricky situation, with a need for serious changes and few obvious avenues by which to pursue them.

The AHL team in Bridgeport could need a face-lift, too, after two straight seasons in dead last, including the league’s worst all-time home record this season.

All that, and there is the matter of Roy to decide, after a season in which he and Lamoriello did not appear to be on the same page and the results on the ice did not measure up to the roster’s promise.