Islanders’ AHL Struggles Speak of Lamoriello’s Failures as GM – The Hockey Writers – Bridgeport Islanders

“Nobody runs American Hockey League (AHL) teams into the ground like the Lamoriello’s do!” That’s the sentiment from long-time followers of the AHL who have watched teams come and go, thrive or fold, and make lasting impressions in the league one step below the NHL.

Lamoriello’s relationship with his AHL teams is a mixed bag considering his history in the league. He was in charge of the New Jersey Devils when their minor league team, the Albany River Rats, won the Calder Cup in 1995 and had many young players who became key parts of the 2000 and 2003 Stanley Cup-winning teams. Likewise, the Toronto Marlies won the Calder Cup in 2018 while he was running the Toronto Maple Leafs, although ironically, he was replaced by Kyle Dubas who was the general manager (GM) of the Marlies. While the success was seen in brief stints, his run with his current AHL affiliate has been anything but.

Related: Why the Bridgeport Islanders’ Offense Has Fallen Off Lately

Lou Lamoriello is the GM of the New York Islanders and everything runs through him. The GM of the AHL team, the Bridgeport Islanders, is his son Chris Lamoriello, who has followed his father throughout his career as an executive. The two previously ran the Devils together and are currently running the Islanders where things have gone south fast.

Lou Lamoriello New York Islanders
Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Bridgeport club is not only a disappointment but a disaster. They have an 8-25-2-2 record and have won only 33 games since the start of last season. They’ve fallen apart in recent seasons but have been a bottom-feeder since Lamoriello took over as the GM in 2018, making the playoffs only twice. The struggles for the AHL team start at the top and while they didn’t hurt the NHL group in previous seasons, the issues are starting to show there as well. The struggles in Bridgeport reflect how Lamoriello thinks and how his style has led to this team’s slow decline at all levels.

Lamoriello’s Urge to Contend at the Cost of the Farm System

Lamoriello rarely makes a big trade or offseason addition but when he does, it’s often to upgrade the roster to help it win now and not in the long run. It’s why when he makes a trade, it often results in an AHL prospect being moved for an NHL-ready player. The Kyle Palmieri trade at the 2021 Trade Deadline gave the Islanders an elite winger for AJ Greer and Mason Jobst, two top prospects in the system at the time. Likewise, the Bo Horvat trade saw Lamoriello move out Aatu Raty, the top prospect in the system. Both those trades worked out for the Islanders, especially since those prospects mentioned have made little to no impact at the NHL level while Horvat and Palmieri are staples of the roster.

There is a downside to these types of trades. Whenever a prospect is good enough at the AHL level and they are traded or rushed up to the NHL roster, they leave the AHL team without talent and that’s what the Islanders have at the moment. Scoring can be indicative of a team depleted of it and the Islanders lack scorers, averaging only 2.67 goals per game with only four skaters on the team scoring nine goals or more.

Now it’s easy to overlook the AHL team, as many NHL fans do. Why would they care about the team below the NHL level when the only thing that matters at the end of the day is which team is hoisting the Stanley Cup? AHL success is not everything and certainly not more important than success at the next level, but it matters. Having good teams at the development level instills a winning culture within the organization and also gives the pro team more reinforcements than usual (some of whom can be pleasant surprises when they get the call-up).

The Washington Capitals are a prime example of an organization seeing the benefits of a great AHL team. The Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup in 2023 and 2024 with a surplus of talent being the primary reason why. Nobody would view Aliaksei Protas, Ethen Frank, or Hendrix Lapierre as elite prospects but when all three got the call-up to the NHL, they proved capable of playing key roles on the roster. The Capitals have surged to the top of the Metropolitan Division with the help of their depth and some of those young players joining the roster have made this team a complete one.

The flip side is that the losses pile up and create a losing culture for the players, and the prospects specifically are affected by it. It’s unfortunately what’s happened with the Islanders. Now that it’s time to rebuild, the farm system isn’t equipped to do so. It’s not that Lamoriello didn’t have a plan in place, as much as he gambled on pushing the team to contend when they couldn’t, and now they are a mess across the board.

Lamoriello’s Loyalty Has Backfired

The AHL is known for turnover, especially behind the bench. A great coach one season can be replaced the next. This season, the Utica Comets fired Kevin Dineen after starting the season with zero victories and nine losses (they’ve won 11 games since and no longer boast the worst record in the league).

The Hartford Wolf Pack, Springfield Thunderbirds, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, three teams within the Islanders division, replaced their head coaches in the offseason. It’s not because the previous coaches were bad at their jobs, on the contrary, Steve Smith brought out the best in the Wolf Pack and they were a well-coached team last season. However, teams are looking for a young up-and-coming coach who can connect with the prospects.

The Islanders hired Rick Kowalsky in the 2023 offseason with the hopes that he would bring out the most in the AHL roster and notably some of the prospects on the team. Some of the prospects, notably William Dufour and Matthew Maggio, have struggled to take big steps forward while the team has played poorly across the board. The Islanders are at or near the bottom of the league in goals for and goals against while playing an undisciplined brand of hockey. Their Jan. 18 game against the Springfield Thunderbirds saw them take nine penalties and it’s one of the reasons they lost the game 6-4.

Kowalsky isn’t to blame for the team’s struggles but most front offices would look for a new voice to lead this group. The problem is that Lamoriello is loyal to the players and coaches that he’s known for years. Kowalsky was in the Devils organization and has been on the Islanders staff for years. Lamoriello knows what he’s getting from him and it’s a good reason to keep him around. The problem is that the AHL team is on the decline and not making progress.

Lamoriello kept the roster intact at the NHL level and it led to a slow decline. All the players locked into long-term deals are starting to show their age and there doesn’t appear to be a great path forward for this team. Likewise, Lamoriello keeps running it back with the AHL coaching staff with the losses piling up, and it leaves the Islanders with a grim outlook for the future.

Why the Islanders Rebuild Is Necessary

Usually, teams are nervous about replacing their GMs and starting over at the top. It forces them to change the structure of their organizations from everything to the front office, the coaching staff, the talent evaluators, and everything in between at not just the NHL level but the other levels as well. These changes include the development plan as well.

The Islanders need this change. The NHL team is in last place in the Metropolitan Division and Bridgeport is 17 points behind the seventh-place team in the Atlantic Division (they sit in last place by a wide margin). Whether it’s a retool, reboot, rebuild, or any other word to describe changing things up, this team needs that (and for the fans who trek to UBS Arena or Total Mortgage Arena, they deserve better).

There’s a wave of prospects coming for the Islanders, and they should be in the AHL by next season if not sooner. It might be what saves Lamoriello’s job since this team could have Cole Eiserman, Quinn Finley, Danny Nelson, Kamil Bednarik, and a presumptive top-five selection in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft all on the roster. The question is if the Islanders want to trust Lamoriello with these prospects.

Cole Eiserman Boston University
Cole Eiserman, Boston University (Photo credit: Eliza Nuestro)

There are plenty of teams around the NHL that have slowed down the development of their top prospects with their urge to contend. The Chicago Blackhawks are a prime example as they could have allowed this season to be a development one for Frank Nazar, Kevin Korchinski, and most importantly, Connor Bedard. Instead, they brought in veteran players with the hopes of rushing the rebuild and making it to the playoffs. The result has them replacing their head coach, sitting at the bottom of the Central Division and behind schedule in the long run. Lamoriello’s history suggests he’ll do the same with the next generation of Islanders prospects. Why would he allow them to develop when he can trade them for players in their prime? It’s this thought process that should have the ownership group spooked and looking to move on.

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