The Islanders answered the biggest question hanging over the franchise on Tuesday by letting general manager Lou Lamoriello go after seven seasons in charge.
The first question for whoever replaces him will be what to do with the coaching and hockey operations staff.
Coach Patrick Roy, assistants John MacLean, Tommy Albelin and Benoit Desrosiers, as well as assistant general managers Steve Pellegrini and Chris Lamoriello, are effectively in limbo right now.
A team spokesman confirmed to The Post that the plan is for Roy and the rest of the hockey operations staff to meet with the new GM when someone is hired and go from there.
Roy’s record as head coach has been, at best, mixed.
The injection of energy he brought a year ago helped the Islanders make a run into the playoffs, but his first full season behind the bench failed to carry that over, with a 35-35-12 record and end-of-season implosion that saw the Islanders miss the playoffs.
Roy ran a spirited training camp, but later said he wished he’d spent more time on special teams, and the Islanders finished 31st league wide in both power play and penalty kill.
Signing Anthony Duclair in free agency, a move Roy is believed to have influenced heavily, also backfired in spectacular fashion, with Duclair getting hurt five games into the season and taking a personal leave of absence in April after an infuriated Roy called his play “god-awful” and questioned his effort.
It remains unclear whether Roy will have the chance to interview for the GM role, though it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if he were given an opportunity to state his case.
Roy coached while holding the vice president of hockey operations job with the Avalanche, but the dichotomy between him and Joe Sakic — the club’s other decision-maker at the time — led to his resignation.
Roy said upon being hired by the Islanders that he’s since realized it’s impossible to do both a front office and head coaching job simultaneously in the NHL, and that he had no interest in influencing personnel.
Still, Roy is nothing if not confident in his abilities, and it’s not known whether his attitude has changed about a move up to the front office.
From a Machiavellian perspective, becoming GM would also ensure Roy’s job security, as he would then get to hire a new head coach himself as opposed to being forced to interview to keep his job.
That said, Roy’s résumé does not necessarily imply he’s ready to take on a role of this magnitude.
Outside of the junior-level Quebec Remparts, he’s never held sole authority over hockey operations, so making him the general manager would amount to a massive swing from ownership.
