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Lane Lambert leaves Capitals to be on Barry Trotz’s coaching staff with New York Islanders

By Ian Oland

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July 5, 2018 10:49 am

Thursday morning, the New York Islanders announced they hired Lane Lambert to be the team’s new associate coach, a title Todd Reirden held in Washington before being promoted to head coach. Lambert will join Barry Trotz, who signed a five-year deal to be the new head coach of the Islanders. The Isles recently lost its best player during free agency to the Toronto Maple Leafs, John Tavares.

The only remaining question mark regarding the Capitals coaching staff moving forward is goalie guru Mitch Korn.

Korn appears to be choosing between staying with the Capitals or joining Trotz on the Islanders. It’s also possible he could retire. Last season, Korn took a step back from being the team’s everyday goaltending coach and was named the Caps’ director of goaltending – more of a managerial role.

Assistant coach Blaine Forsythe, who runs the team’s power play, and Scott Murray, the team’s goaltending coach, have been confirmed to be coming back next season.

More from the Islanders:

The New York Islanders announced today that Lane Lambert has been named Associate Coach.

Lambert, 53, spent the last four seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Washington Capitals, working alongside current Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz. Lambert was on Washington’s staff that helped guide the Capitals to two consecutive Presidents’ Trophies (2015-16 and 2016-17) and the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Championship (2017-18).

Prior to joining the Capitals, Lambert spent three seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Nashville Predators. In his first season with the Predators in 2011-12, Nashville recorded the NHL’s fifth-best record and advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Lambert served as head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) from 2007-11. In addition to four straight Calder Cup playoff berths, Lambert helped the Admirals capture a pair of West Division titles and post the Western Conference’s highest point total in 2010-11 (102 pts, 44-22-14 record).

Prior to joining the Admirals as an Assistant Coach in 2006-07, the Melfort, Saskatchewan, native spent one season as an Assistant Coach for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate. Lambert started his coaching career in the Western Hockey League, spending two seasons as Head Coach of the Prince George Cougars (2003-05) and two seasons as an Assistant Coach for the Moose Jaw Warriors (2002-04).

Lambert was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round, 25th overall, in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. He scored 125 points (58 goals, 67 assists) and accumulated 521 penalty minutes in 283 career NHL games (1983-88) with Detroit, the New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques. Lambert enjoyed his most successful NHL campaign with the Nordiques in 1987-88, recording career-highs in points (41) and assists (28) in 61 contests. Lambert won an AHL Calder Cup title with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1986 and helped the Houston Aeros claim the IHL’s Turner Cup Championship in 1999.

Photo: @NYIslanders

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