The New York Islanders have named Lane Lambert as their new head coach, the team announced Monday.
Lambert served as the associate coach of the Islanders the past four seasons. Before his time with the Islanders, Lambert spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals.
The announcement comes a week after the Islanders fired Barry Trotz, with president and general manager Lou Lamoriello saying the team needed “a new voice.”
“I had the opportunity to work with Lane over the past four years, which includes spending time with him on a one-on-one basis when he served as the interim Head Coach this past season,” Lamoriello said in a statement. “In my opinion, he is the right person to coach this team.”
The Islanders missed the playoffs this past season, finishing with 84 points (37-35-10) and falling short of the Eastern Conference playoff cut by 16 points. It was the first time in Trotz’s four seasons with the team that it didn’t make a postseason appearance.
In four seasons as the team’s coach, Trotz was 152-102-34 and 28-21 in the playoffs. The Islanders had reached the third round of the playoffs in two straight seasons, losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning both times.