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Kraken hire Lane Lambert as their third coach

New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert, left, mans the bench during a game against the Florida Panthers and fist-bumps the Islanders’ Casey Cizikas (53) at the UBS Arena on Oct. 13, 2022, in Elmont, New York. (Tribune News Service)
By Kate Shefte Seattle Times

SEATTLE – The Kraken named Lane Lambert the third coach in franchise history on Thursday. Lambert guided the New York Islanders for a season and a half, his only prior NHL head coaching experience.

Lambert, 60, was associate coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. The Kraken presumably had to wait until the Maple Leafs were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs to interview him. In his 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Lambert’s interview with the Kraken “went well in Seattle” last week.

Lambert was an assistant coach of the Nashville Predators from 2011-14 and held the same job for the Washington Capitals the next four seasons, winning the Stanley Cup there in 2018. He was named associate coach, or elevated assistant coach, of the Islanders in 2018 and took over as head coach before the 2022-23 season.

Under Lambert, the Islanders improved their two-way play, jumped nine points in the standings over the previous season and got back to the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the first round.

In 2023-24, the Islanders had a winning record, but were out of a playoff spot in January. Lambert was fired and current coach Patrick Roy took over.

Craig Berube brought him on to oversee Toronto’s penalty kill. The Maple Leafs’ PK rose from 23rd in the NHL in 2023-24 (76.9%) to fourth best (81.6%) this regular season.

The Melfort, Saskatchewan, native was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round (25th overall) of the 1983 NHL draft and spent six seasons in the league with Detroit, the Quebec Nordiques and the New York Rangers. During 283 regular-season games, Lambert chipped in 124 points (58 goals, 66 assists) and 521 penalty minutes.

NHL insider Friedman bolstered previous reports that Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love and Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach David Quinn were on the Kraken’s list, among others. Love had local ties, but no NHL head coaching experience. He was a longtime assistant coach of the Everett Silvertips. His last season in Everett was 2017-18. He moved around the Western Hockey League before making the jump to the American Hockey League, then the NHL. Love was also linked to the Penguins, who seek a replacement for fired Mike Sullivan.

Quinn has a lengthy college coaching resume, having worked at Northeastern and Nebraska-Omaha, plus Boston University in two stints. He was the head coach of the New York Rangers from 2018-2021, then oversaw the San Jose Sharks for two seasons before taking the job in Pittsburgh.

The Kraken were previously linked to former Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, who filled the Philadelphia Flyers vacancy, and Jeff Blashill, who became the Chicago Blackhawks’ latest coach.

The Kraken fired Dan Bylsma, their former AHL coach, on April 21 after just one season behind the NHL bench. That coincided with a front-office shake-up. The Kraken’s original general manager, Ron Francis, was elevated to president of hockey operations and assistant GM Jason Botterill took over GM duties.

The Kraken have missed the playoff three times in their four years, including two straight. The Kraken performed worse under Bylsma, five points behind the prior year under Dave Hakstol and 20 points behind the second wild-card team.