New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres

New York Islanders Continue Their Search, But With Major Caveat

Elliotte Friedman was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio with Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin on Wednesday and was asked about the New York Islanders and who the names are he is hearing that could get the job. Friedman stated the usual suspects, but added an interesting nugget about the position.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

Gord Stellick: “So on the New York Islander side, we’re hearing a lot of names. Have they whittled it down to what, two or three?”

Elliotte Friedman: “I don’t know if I would say that Gordy. I think that they’ve definitely got interviews scheduled, or are doing interviews with (Marc) Bergevin, (Jarmo) Kekäläinen, I believe Mathieu Darche, but I’ve heard they’ve also been asking about some other different people. I think they’ve asked about, who are some names that maybe we don’t know, new faces that they want to at least talk to. I always have a sense in these searches, whether it’s coaches or GM Gord, that there’s always something we’re missing. And, I’ve wondered in this search if there’s some of that.

NHL Rumors: New York Islanders Have Three Questions To Answer

The one thing I should bring up with the Islanders is that there’s been a lot of rumors about how the new job will work. Apparently, well, I’ve been told, and apparently the candidates have been told, that whoever the new person is going to run the hockey division the Islanders, whether they’re President of Hockey Ops, GM, or some combination of both, they’ll be reporting directly to the majority owner, who Scott Malkin.

So, I just wanted to mention that, because there’s been a lot of rumors about how that’s all going to work.”

Buffalo Sabres Want To Add Someone with Lou Lamoriello’s Resume

On Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio with Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin and asked about the Buffalo Sabres and Lou Lamoriello. Friedman mentioned the Sabres want to add a senior advisor that has a similar resume to Lamoriello.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

Scott Laughlin: “Yeah. So the picture of Lou Lamoriello at Buffalo Niagara Airport, and he’s walking around and, oh, by the way, the Sabers still might be looking for a senior VP. I guess Eric Staal was added recently, right, as an assistant to Kevyn Adams, a couple of guys who won a Cup with the Canes together back in 2006. Let me just ask you this, then. If we’re not sure about the picture and whether Lou was actually in Western New York or not, are you of the belief that Terry Pegula is thinking that okay, Eric Staal is one thing. However, we still need to get somebody that’s a senior executive to work with and maybe just even above a guy like Kevyn Adams.”

Friedman: “I don’t know if this Lamoriello picture is true. Like I said, I didn’t even know about it until this morning, right? I guess I’ll look into it today, but it’s definitely true I reported last week that they were bringing in Staal and that they’re looking for a senior advisor to Adams, and they are.

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They are looking for someone who would definitely fit Lamoriello’s criteria. Like the criteria I heard was someone who’s been in the chair before, or someone who’s been around a long time. And so Lamoriello would fit if that’s what Buffalo wanted to do.”

NHLRumors.com Note: According to Darren Dreger on the Buffalo front, Lamoriello was updating his Nexus at the airport. However, he has reported that the Sabres would be interested in Lamoriello coming in. Would Adams be open to it, and does Lamoriello actually want to be a senior advisor?

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It is interesting that the new President of Hockey Ops or GM would report to Scott Malkin regarding the New York Islanders. It appears he is taking charge on the Island. Let’s see where things go, as the NHL Draft is coming up shortly, and the team needs its hockey department in place by then.

As far as the candidates that nobody is talking about, NHLRumors.com has documented who they are when it comes to the Islanders GM position.

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