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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Job interviews are the adult version of show-and-tell, except instead of bringing your favorite toy, you're bringing every mildly impressive thing you've ever done, padded with action verbs. It’s a high-stakes performance where you’re supposed to be confident but not cocky, eager but not desperate, experienced but somehow also fresh and moldable.
Presumably, over the next days and weeks, a vast list of candidates will be interviewed for the Islanders’ vacant GM position. The job description may be the same, but the skill sets the candidates offer will be wide-ranging, and there’s no telling what the Islanders ’ ownership group values most and how each pitch will play out in the interview setting.
There could be analytics-driven modern thinkers who have never held the top spot, such as Mathieu Darche and Kate Madigan, and experienced NHL executives, including Hall-of-Famer Ken Holland and former Habs GM Marc Bergevin. There’s also the opportunity for out-of-the-box options like Kevin Weekes to win over the room if given the chance.
Seasoned candidates, emerging front-office talents, media personalities, and maybe some others we’re not thinking about. This is unlike any GM search in the history of the franchise. The Islanders have gone over 50 years with only seven GMs: Torrey, Maloney, Milury, Smith (for 40 days), Snow, and Lamoriello.
None of those previous searches were “conventional,” and none were cast as wide and open a net as the one John Collins is in charge of creating. Do the Islanders already know what they’re looking for, or are they willing to be swayed in one direction or another by what is said and shown during these conversations?
They’re likely to hear a bit of everything during the interviews. The candidate who says what they want to hear and says it the best has a good chance of winning out. Time and the process will tell and dictate who they choose, and it’s something they have to get right.
📰 NEWS: Islanders fans will have more to cheer for this spring as Bo Horvat and Noah Dobson suit up for Team Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, taking place May 9–25 in Stockholm, Sweden.
🇨🇦 Bo Horvat: Veteran Presence Up Front
This marks Horvat’s second appearance at the senior level for Canada and his first as a New York Islander. The London, Ontario native previously tallied seven points (3G, 4A) in 10 games during the 2018 tournament in Denmark, where Canada narrowly missed the podium. Horvat also represented Canada at the 2014 World Juniors and the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
Coming off a strong 57-point season (28G, 29A) with the Islanders, Horvat led the team in scoring during the 2024–25 campaign.
"It's definitely been talked about. I haven't made a decision or anything yet, but it's definitely something to consider, and a pretty big year, Olympic-wise, next year," Horvat said at locker room cleanout day according to The Hockey News. "I think it'd be a good stepping stone for me to go prove myself and represent my country. And if I do get that opportunity, I'll take it."
🇨🇦 Noah Dobson: Blueline Breakthrough
Dobson will be making his World Championship debut, adding to an already impressive international resume that includes appearances at the 2019 World Juniors and 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The Summerside, PEI native just wrapped up a standout season, leading all Islanders defensemen with 39 points (10G, 29A).
To date, 15 players have been named as part of Team Canada.
According to Stefan Rosner, Simon Holmstrom is also expected to participate in the Tournament with Team Sweden. Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark, co-host the tournament from May 9 to May 25.
What are the Odds?
By finishing 10th from the bottom, the Islanders are among the 11 teams with a chance at winning the NHL Draft Lottery, scheduled for Monday, May 5th, and an opportunity to select the player of their choice with the top pick. The Islanders' position earns them a 3.5% chance of winning the lottery and securing the top overall pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, scheduled for June 27 in Los Angeles.
Here are the odds for all teams:
Lottery Odds & Structure:
Each non-playoff team is assigned lottery odds based on its regular season finish—the worse the record, the better the odds.
The lottery uses 14 ping-pong balls to create 1,001 unique four-number combinations.
Each team receives a number of those combinations proportional to their odds.
Lottery Draws:
Two draws are held: The first draw determines the No. 1 overall pick. The second draw determines the No. 2 overall pick.
Once those two spots are awarded, the rest of the draft order is set based on the regular-season standings (worst to best among non-playoff teams).
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On May 2, 1993, the underdog Islanders, inspired by the absence of injured star Pierre Turgeon, got shorthanded goals from Ray Ferraro and Benoit Hogue to surprise the Mario Lemieux-less Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, in Game 1 of the Patrick Division finals. Defenseman Vladimir Malakhov also scored for the Isles, who got 28 saves from Glenn Healy in the win.
🎧 Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Morrow, McKendry & Marine (with guest Allan Kreda) “Along with author Allan Kreda, Mike and Dan celebrate Ken Morrow and some of the Weird Islanders he played with in his incredible career. Morrow was the exact opposite of a Weird Islander - he was a reliable, steady presence for a decade as the Islanders dominated the NHL. Even off the ice, the lanky defenseman is far more normal and humble than a gold medalist and a four-time Stanley Cup champion should be.”
🔗 Why the Islanders would be foolish to fast-track the head coach hire by Ethan Sears, New York Post “All but eight current general managers in the NHL have hired a second head coach or are in the process of doing so. Those who haven’t (Eric Tulsky in Carolina, Chris MacFarland in Colorado, Don Waddell in Columbus, Stan Bowman in Edmonton, Barry Trotz in Nashville, Jason Botterill in Seattle, Julien BriseBois in Tampa and Chris Patrick in Washington) almost uniformly have been hired in the past three years — and most of them more recently than that.”
And we leave you with this…after 19 seasons with the New York Rangers, after previously spending seven as an analyst for Islanders games alongside Howie Rose, Joe Micheletti announced his retirement, following his broadcast partner Sam Rosen.
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