Islanders Rumors: 10 Candidates Named As Potential Lou Lamoriello Replacements at GM

With the New York Islanders moving on from Lou Lamoriello, the search for a new general manager is on, and there is no shortage of available candidates. Insider Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff has provided a list of 10 potential candidates who could be the next Islanders GM after a seven-year Lamoriello reign.

The names range from a current Hall of Famer at one end, to several would-be first-time GMs.

Ken Holland
Marc Bergevin
Peter Chiarelli
Jarmo Kekalainen
Doug Wilson
Mathieu Darche
Evan Gold
Ryan Martin
Kevin McDonald
Brandon Pridham

Starting with Holland, 69, most recently the president of hockey operations and GM with the Edmonton Oilers, he has his name on the Stanley Cup four times, and came within a whisker of a 5th last June. He won three Cups as GM of the Detroit Red Wings (1998, 2002, and 2008) after getting his first in 1997 as assistant GM there.

Bergevin, 59, was an Islanders player for two seasons during his career, and is currently a valued senior advisor for the LA Kings. But with GM Rob Blake in the final year of his contract there, could Bergevin be the successor as soon as this season?

Wilson, 67, is reportedly back to good health after stepping down from the GM role with the San Jose Sharks in 2022. He's now a senior advisor to Kyle Dubas with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and seems ready to get back into a lead role.

The last five names on the list would be first-timers in a GM role in the NHL. Darche has come the closest to earning the job in the past. Currently serving under Julien BriseBois, he has been the director of hockey operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2019, and was instrumental in helping guide the team to two Stanley Cup championships. Darche been a finalist for a GM job a few times, and as Seravalli notes, "It seems like only a matter of ‘where’ and not ‘when’ Darche will get an opportunity to run an NHL club."

All the other hopeful first-timers are currently assistant GMs at the NHL level.