Islanders hire longtime Trotz assistant Lambert

When the New York Islanders fired coach Barry Trotz, general manager Lou Lamoriello believed the team needed a new voice.

That new voice is coming from inside the same coaches’ room.

The Islanders on Monday named Lane Lambert as Trotz’s replacement, giving his longtime assistant his first head coaching job in the NHL. It took just a week from the decision to move on from Trotz with one year left on his contract for the team to conclude that Lambert was the right choice to succeed him.

“There is without question a new voice,” Lamoriello said during a virtual news conference. “That new voice is here with Lane, and certainly Lane has different thoughts on different things.”

Trotz was fired last week after the Islanders missed the playoffs for the first time in his four seasons behind the bench, a disappointing turn of events chalked up significantly to opening with a 13-game road trip and getting hit with a string of coronavirus absences and injuries.

Lamoriello said a major reason for this move was a stretch in January when Lambert took over coaching duties from Trotz, who took a leave of absence to deal with a family matter, and showed impressive leadership.

“When he got the opportunity or was put in that role, he had no questions in his mind as far as his decision-making, no insecurities in the conversations I had with him, and the homework he did prior to making some of the decisions that were put upon him,” the 79-year-old executive said. “He was totally comfortable in his own skin to make decisions that had to be made no matter where we are and no matter what game it was.”

Lambert, 57, has worked on Trotz’s staff the past 11 years with Nashville, Washington and New York. He has a Stanley Cup ring from the Capitals’ title run in 2018, after which Trotz resigned amid a contract dispute and joined the Islanders.

Trotz was also replaced by an assistant then, when Todd Reirden was elevated to take over in Washington. He was fired after two seasons and two first-round playoff exits.

Reirden, who is now on Mike Sullivan’s staff with the Pittsburgh Penguins, did not have a prior relationship with Trotz. Lambert began working under Trotz with the Nashville Predators in 2011 after four seasons as coach of their American Hockey League affiliate in Milwaukee and has been by his side since.

Jim McIsaac / Associated Press Islanders head coach Barry Trotz, left, and assistant coach Lane Lambert stand on the bench during a January game against the Flyers. The Islanders hired Lambert to succeed Trotz as coach on Monday.