Top 10 Islanders coaches in franchise history

SEATTLE — The Islanders conclude a seven-game road trip against Lane Lambert’s Kraken on Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena. Patrick Roy’s predecessor is in his first season behind the Kraken’s bench after a 127-game tenure in his first NHL head coaching gig, plus four seasons as Barry Trotz’s top lieutenant.

So with the Islanders not practicing on Tuesday after improving their road trip record to 3-2-1 with a 4-3 win over the NHL-worst Canucks on Monday night, it got us thinking about where Lambert might wind up on a list of the top 10 all-time Islanders coaches or whether he’d miss the cut.

Spoiler alert: Lambert squeezed in.

Also, to note, a coach’s success or lack thereof is greatly impacted by a general manager’s roster building skills. So Rick Bowness, who has proven to be a terrific NHL coach now on his eighth job with the Blue Jackets, missing the list after going 38-50-12 over parts of two seasons in 1997-98 reflects more upon then-GM Mike Milbury. Ditto for beloved four-time Stanley Cup winner Butch Goring, who had his  chance for success as Islanders coach torpedoed when Milbury traded away goalie Roberto Luongo in 2000.

Here’s the top 10:

1. Al Arbour (1973-86, 1988-94, 2007)

The gold standard whose coaching legacy is still felt throughout the organization. The Hall of Famer, in a strong partnership with Hall of Fame GM Bill Torrey, guided the Islanders to four Stanley Cups from 1980-83 and a fifth straight Cup Final appearance in 1984. “Radar” did so through a combination of tough love, genuine care and respect for his players and their families and superior coaching talent. Arbour went 740-537-223 in the regular season and coached an additional 198 playoff games, with the Islanders winning a record 19 straight postseason series.

2. Barry Trotz (2018-2022)

Islanders alumni quickly noted the similarities between Trotz and Arbour when he was hired in 2018 shortly after leading the Capitals to their lone Stanley Cup. His points percentage of .587 (152-102-34) is best among all Islanders coaches and he led them to the playoffs in his first three seasons, navigating the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic for two straight appearances in the NHL semifinals. Lou Lamoriello’s decision to move on from Trotz for Lambert after a playoff miss in 2022 stands as one of his most baffling decisions as Islanders’ boss.

3. Jack Capuano (2010-17)

Capuano had the second-longest tenure behind Arbour and led the Islanders to three playoff berths and, against the Panthers in 2016, their first series win since 1993. Playoff series against the Penguins in in 2013 and Trotz’s Capitals in 2015 were also memorable. He compiled a 227-192-64 mark.

4. Peter Laviolette (2001-03)

Laviolette went on to greater success elsewhere, winning the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 and guiding both the Flyers (2010) and Predators (2017) to the Cup Final. But he led the Islanders to back-to-back playoff appearances in his first NHL job — the first time they’d qualified since 1994 — before Milbury fired him after two seasons, suggesting he’d lost the room.

5. Patrick Roy (2024-present)

He has the Islanders in second place in the Metropolitan Division and Roy rallied the Islanders to a playoff berth in 2024 before a middling 35-35-12 finish last season. He works well with first-year GM Mathieu Darche and has the chance to eventually be higher on this list.

6. Terry Simpson (1986-88)

He had the impossible task of following Arbour with a roster that was aging after its Cup runs. He went 81-82-24 before Arbour left his front office job to return to the bench but Simpson’s 20 playoff games coached are the fourth most in team history.

7. Ted Nolan (2006-08)

The feisty Nolan went 40-30-12 with a playoff berth in his first season and gets bonus points for graciously inviting Arbour to go behind the bench one final time in 2007 so he could coach in his 1,500th game.

8. Lane Lambert (2022-24)

Lamoriello hired Lambert to be a “new voice” after Trotz yet he was never comfortable speaking publicly and was fired midway through his second season. Players did praise his X's and O's acumen and his points percentage of .559 (61-46-20) is third best in team history behind Trotz (.587) and Arbour (.568). 

9. Steve Stirling (2003-06)

He went 38-29-11-4 and led the Islanders to the 2004 playoffs in his one full season.

10. Doug Weight (2017-18)

Weight’s points percentage of .541 (59-49-14) is the best among the 10 Islanders coaches who never got them into the playoffs.