Lane Lambert has a new job in the NHL after being fired midseason by the New York Islanders last January.
Lambert, an assistant coach on the Washington Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup champion team, has been hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs to serve as an associate coach on head coach Craig Berube’s staff. Toronto hired Berube in mid-May just over a week after moving on from Sheldon Keefe post first-round playoff loss to the Boston Bruins.
We’ve hired Lane Lambert as an associate coach
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 5, 2024
Lambert’s head coaching job with the Islanders was his first in the NHL after previous experience as a bench boss in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals and WHL with the Prince George Cougars. New York amassed a 61-46-20 record over parts of two seasons with Lambert in charge.
In Lambert’s first season, the Islanders posted a 42-31-9 record and got into the postseason in the Eastern Conference’s first wild card spot. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the New Jersey Devils in six games.
General manager Lou Lamoriello replaced Lambert with Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy. New York finished third in the Metropolitan Division under Roy and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
Lambert, along with goaltending coach Mitch Korn, departed Washington for the Islanders shortly after the Capitals won their first championship, joining Barry Trotz’s staff as an associate coach. When Trotz was fired after the 2021-22 season, Lamoriello promoted Lambert to head coach.
With Lambert’s hiring, the Maple Leafs also announced assistant coach Dean Chynoweth would not be returning. Chynoweth was hired by Toronto in 2021 after spending three seasons as an assistant with the Carolina Hurricanes under Rod Brind’Amour.
