Meeting with Lou Lamoriello.

October 25th, 2018:

A Group of Islander fans, myself included, Got the Opportunity to meet Islanders President and General Manager, Lou Lamoriello. We were able to listen to what he had to say about the Team this season as well as ask him Questions!

Lamoriello's vision of the team is that this is an evaluation year. Now will this be a Tank year? I don't get that sense at all from Lou. I do think that he believes that this team can be competitive and make a push for the Playoffs. Lamoriello also said that it takes about 20 games to really get a feel on how the season will go.

WARNING: I DO NOT REMEMBER ALL THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO SAID QUESTIONS WORD FOR WORD, SO I WILL BE PARAPHRASING AND GOING BY MEMORY FOR EACH QUESTION AND ANSWER. ALSO, I WILL BREAK DOWN EACH RESPONSE AS BEST I CAN!

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I'll start with something that's probably on a lot of fans minds, John Tavares!

Question #1: As you may know, we lost a big piece of the team over the Summer in John Tavares. What is your opinion on this and do you think we could've gotten something for him if we Traded him?

Lamoriello: "First of all, Let me Just say that John is a Tremendous Human being. He's a terrific Player, A Very Hard worker, has an Incredible Personality and is an Incredible Human being. He spent "X" amount of years with the Islanders and he earned his right to be a Free Agent. He took advantage of his Opportunity and went to where he felt he had the best chance to win. It's like when your Child finishes High School and has to choose where they want to go to College. They earned that right to choose what school they want to go to. John did what was best for him and his family. Ownership at the time wanted to keep John around and thought they could keep him. I know it's hard for the fans, but I know that this was a very difficult for John as well. It wasn't an easy decision for him to make."

Breakdown: Lamoriello is basically saying that Ownership wanted to keep Tavares and made it clear that trading was NOT an option. It didn't sound like Tavares "Begged" not to be traded so much as Ownership giving then General Manager, Garth Snow strict orders NOT to trade him. Lamoriello also made it clear that Tavares earned his opportunity to elect Free Agency and despite fans anger, Tavares did what was best for him and him alone.

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Question #2: In your opinion, What exactly do we need right now to Take us from being a Potential Contender to a serious Stanley Cup Contender?

Lamoriello: "Everything!"

(That's all he said in response to that Question.)

Breakdown: This tells me that the Team needs more than what us fans see on the ice and/or on Paper from the NHL Level down through the AHL Level to the ECHL Level and perhaps the College level. It also means that he doesn't feel that this current team is ready to make a legitimate push for the Cup and he feels that this team needs more. That doesn't mean they can't make the Playoffs and make some sort of push, it means that he doesn't think this team can win a cup this season.

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Question #3: Have you heard from Goaltender Ilya Sorokin and is it True that he wasn't coming over because Garth Snow was in charge?

Lamoriello: "We have heard from him and That is 100% False."

Breakdown: I don't know who came up with the story that it was Garth Snow who was the reason that Sorokin wasn't coming to the Islanders, but Lamoriello shot down and silenced that rumor very quickly and swiftly.

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Question #4: What Roles do both Garth Snow and Doug Weight have with the Organization?

Lamoriello: "Garth Snow is The Senior Adviser to the President and General Manager. Doug Weight is no longer with the Organization. There is no animosity between Doug and the organization."

Breakdown: I believe Garth Snow is still with the Organization because of the contract Charles Wang gave Garth Snow, with that being said, Lamoriello and Garth Snow have a very close relationship and perhaps Lamoriello thought Garth Snow would benefit the organization. Despite fans not liking Garth Snow and Snow not being the best General Manager for 12 years, He still knows the Organization better than Lamoriello and perhaps he feels that Garth Snow can help Lamoriello with the Turnaround of the New York Islanders. As for Doug Weight, I can't really think of much to say or go on by Doug Weight not being part of the Organization. Maybe he wanted to take a Break from Hockey and spend time with his family? I honestly don't know.

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Question #5: This offseason, you signed Robin Lehner, a Player whose story has been seen all throughout the NHL and possibly further. What did you see him and what made you want to sign him?

Lamoriello: "I've known Robin since his time in Sweden and throughout his career.  I knew he was struggling the past couple of seasons. We decided to give him a call, Fly him in and talk to him. He was Determined and motiviated. Barry Trotz had a conversation with him as well and when we signed Robin, He immediately moved to the Island."

Breakdown: This tells me that Lehner is determined to have a breakout season after his time in Buffalo. With his story going around the entire NHL and possibly further out, Robin Lehner has a clean slate and had his First Sober Road Trip when the Islanders went out west to Nashville and California.

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Question #6: There was a Goaltender last season, Thomas Greiss who had arguably The Worst season in his Career. My Question is, What do you see in his Work Ethic on and off the ice, his Personality and what he can bring to the team?

Lamoriello: "Thomas is a Terrific young man, He is a Family Guy, His work ethic is exceptional and I feel like he can help this team. A Player can not be judged based on one bad season. I remember when I was in New Jersey, I would have conversations with Martin Brodeur and I would ask him "Does the Puck look like a Golf Ball or a Basketball today?" and he would tell me what it would look like after that game. Some games, He would tell me it would look like a Golf Ball and a Basketball the next few. You need to have faith in your players, if you don't have faith in them because they had a bad year, you won't get the most out of them."

Breakdown: Lou has faith in his team, he also has faith in Thomas Greiss despite him having a Career worst Season. For Lamoriello to mention Martin Brodeur in the same Paragraph and Explanation mind you as Thomas Greiss, possibly shows how long Lamoriello has seen Goaltenders and know that ALL Goaltenders as well as ALL Players have bad years and deserve a shot to Bounce back.

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Question #7: This team has a History of allowing Late Goals in the 3rd Period and blowing games. How do we as fans deal with this along with all the pain and suffering we have put up with for years?

Lamoriello: "Stop Thinking about it. If you continue to think about it, it will continue to happen. It's possible our Players still have that mindset from last season, but we want to move forward from that mindset. It will take time for our players to move on from that mindset. But if you want to stop thinking about late goals happening or blowing leads, you have to stop thinking in that mindset."

Breakdown: I couldn't agree more with this! If you continue to think about a blown lead or knowing the team will blow a lead, chances are that it'll happen, if you stop thinking about the Negative, more than likely the Positive will happen.

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Question #8: We saw that there was a Tribute for Charles Wang, The Florida Panthers have Bow-tie Decals for Bill Torrey.  Is there going to be a Tribute for Bill Torrey?

Lamoriello: "Yes there is and his Family is ecstatic about what we have planned!"

Breakdown: This was something I've heard a lot of fans complain about. But with that being said, Lou has made it clear that there will be something for Bill Torrey. A Date wasn't announced or Whether it will be at Barclays or The Coliseum, but Something will be done for Torrey.

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Question #9: In your Career in the NHL, what is your vision of a winning team?

Lamoriello: "A Winning Team is like a Pyramid. Each piece supports one another. If one part cracks or Crumbles, another piece is there to support the weight. When Building a team, you need to have the right amount of chemistry and not only on the ice but in the Locker room as well."

Breakdown: This means that Lamoriello is building structure with the Team. Although there are some of Lamoriello's methods that I Openly disagree with, I'm Simply explaining what he's saying.

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Question #10: Whose Idea was it to move the game against the Maple Leafs from Barclays to the Coliseum?

Lamoriello: "I have to say I had a hand in that. We made a decision, made the proper phone calls and got permission from the NHL to move the game from Brooklyn to Long Island."

Breakdown: I'm indifferent on this, Although it would be the First game Tavares comes back to Long Island to play as a visitor and a Member of the Maple Leafs. It will be where he played so many home games with the Islanders.

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So these are some of the questions that were asked. Again, I don't remember all the questions and answers and did my best to try and remember what was asked and how it was answered from memory.

With all of that being said, Lets hope for a good rest of the Season!

Until the Next Blog my Friends,

LETS GO ISLANDERS!!!