Lamoriello Looking To Lead Islanders

Lou Lamoriello won three Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils, but it's the two that got away that he still thinks about at night.
"I probably remember most the ones we didn't win that we should have won," Lamoriello said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.
Championship or bust, that's the Lamoriello standard. As of Tuesday, it's officially the Islanders standard too.

Lamoriello didn't explicitly say championship during Tuesday's conference call, where he was introduced as the team's new president of hockey ops, but that's what was implied when he said he wanted to lead the Isles "back to where they were," later referencing the dynasty years.
READ: LAMORIELLO NAMED PRESIDENT OF HOCKEY OPS
And at 75, the burning desire for a fourth ring is still in the Hall of Famer, who looks to lead the Islanders to their fifth.
"I was impressed with the conversation I had with [co-owner] Scott Malkin and his vision and his commitment and his support to the Islanders," Lamoriello told reporters via conference call. "I also look at it as a challenge to bring the Islanders back to where they were."
Lamoriello spent 28 years as the President and General Manager of the New Jersey Devils, turning a franchise that hadn't posted a winning record to turning them into perennial contenders in the 1990s and 2000s. Under Lamoriello's watch, the Devils won three Stanley Cups (1995, 2000, 2003) and made two more finals appearances (2001, 2012).

More recently, Lamoriello oversaw a quick turnaround in Toronto that saw the Maple Leafs go from last in the NHL in 2015-16 to earning consecutive playoff appearances. He's left his mark wherever he's been, through on-ice success and a professional, old school approach off the ice and in the front office.
As anxious as Islanders fans are to see Lamoriello make his mark immediately - he's been given full authority over hockey matters - the new president said he plans to take time to evaluate the current group.
"Right now I have no preconceived notions," Lamoriello said. "I have certainly spoken to the people there as I've done in the past in a situation like this. I take a step back and see exactly what the people who you have in place have to offer, what their thoughts are and vision is and then make decisions as I go along."
"We will have to evaluate everything in a short period of time, but not at a rushed pace," Lamoriello added.

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A pair of important dates are approaching for Lamoriello and the Islanders; the NHL Draft on June 22 and the first day of free agency on July 1. The Islanders have the 11th and 12th picks in the first round of the draft while captain John Tavares could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Lamoriello, whose reputation as a pragmatic, tight-lipped tactician has followed him from the Tri-State Area to Canada and now back, said he hadn't set any timeframes yet and that contract talks with any player - including Tavares - would remain private.
"You have to use whatever time you have to do whatever you feel is the right decision," Lamoriello said. "There's no timeframe for anything, but when there is time, you use it. When there isn't, you make a decision."
Lamoriello did speak highly of the Islanders captain, calling him one of the elite players in the league and a gentleman on and off the ice.
"He's a quality individual as well as a quality player," Lamoriello said.

Lamoriello was also asked about what joining the Islanders meant to him personally and he spoke about his reverence and friendship with the late Bill Torrey, the Isles GM during the team's dynasty.
"I have so many positive recollections of the Islanders because Bill Torrey was an outstanding friend to me from day one," Lamoriello said. "Even when I was in the college ranks I communicated with Bill. We had been friends up until - unfortunately - his passing."
"I've known a lot about [the Islanders] and watched their team and anytime you have an organization win the number of championships they have won, in the period of time they won it with the type of core players and character they had, you know a lot about it," he added.
That's the level Lamoriello wants to bring the Islanders back to - and while the new president preached patience on day one, the arrival of the Hall of Famer is a step in that direction and the start of a new era.