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Lamoriello, architect behind devils' titles, Joins islanders' front office

The New York Islanders named Lou Lamoriello their president of hockey operations on Tuesday, giving the longtime NHL executive complete control over an organization that has made only three playoff appearances in the past decade.

“We are committed to giving Lou every resource and the full support of the entire organization as we pursue our program to compete at the highest level,” the Islanders’ managing partner, Scott Malkin, said in a statement.

Lamoriello did not announce any immediate changes during a conference call Tuesday afternoon. He said he would assess the organization in the weeks ahead.

“Right now I have no preconceived notions,” he said. “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.”

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Garth Snow has been general manager of the Islanders the past 12 seasons, only four of which resulted in playoff appearances. The team, a four-time Stanley Cup champion in the early 1980s, has won one playoff series during Snow’s tenure and only three since the 1987-88 season, when they lost to Lamoriello’s Devils in the first round.

Islanders fans have consistently clamored for Snow’s ouster, especially after the past two seasons. Asked last month at the team’s season-ending news conference whether he deserved to keep his job, Snow gave a rambling answer extolling the history of his draft picks.

The Islanders have a major task ahead of them. John Tavares, who has been the face of the franchise since the Islanders made him the first pick of the 2009 draft, can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Tavares has not committed to stay with the team.

Lamoriello praised Tavares as “a quality individual as well as a quality player” but gave no hints about his contract. In his 28 years running the Devils, Lamoriello kept negotiations private.

“Whether it’s contracts, or personally, or whether it’s a coach, I will never comment on it,” Lamoriello said. “Never have and won’t.”

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Also unclear is the fate of coach Doug Weight, who completed his first full season behind the Islanders bench with a 35-37-10 mark after replacing Jack Capuano midway through the previous campaign.

At the team’s news conference last month, the Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky read a statement in which he said everyone in the team’s front office would be evaluated. Ledecky did not answer questions, and he and Malkin had been mum about their plans in the weeks since that statement.

Lamoriello, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009 in the builders category, said Malkin played a key role in convincing him to join the Islanders. And he said he was swayed by a fresh opportunity in the New York area even at this stage of his lengthy career.

“I was impressed with the conversation I had with Scott Malkin and his vision and his commitment and his support to the Islanders,” Lamoriello said. “I also look at it as a challenge to bring the Islanders back to where they were.”

After the Islanders missed the playoffs for the sixth time in his nine-year career, Tavares last month expressed disappointment at again being a postseason bystander. He also mentioned his pending free agency for the first time as well as a desire to remain with the Islanders.

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“I think I’ve earned the right to take my time and go from there,” Tavares said at the time. “I hope to be back. I love it here. It’s a tremendous fan base.”

The Islanders announced in December a new arena to be built at Belmont Park would be their home by the 2021-22 season. In late January, the Islanders said they would share home games over the coming three seasons between Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Nassau Coliseum, their renovated but downsized former arena.

Lamoriello, who was hockey coach and athletic director at Providence College before becoming president of the Devils in 1987, said a measured approach would continue to be his mantra with the draft next month in Dallas and a pressing decision on Tavares.

“We’ll have to evaluate everything in, quite frankly, a short period of time — but not at a rushed pace,” he said. “There’s no time frame for anything. But when there is time, you use it.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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ALLAN KREDA © 2018 The New York Times

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