Ex-Islanders coach Lane Lambert hired as assistant on Maple Leafs' staff
Lane Lambert of the Islanders speaks to the media after a game against the Washington Capitals at UBS Arena on Nov. 11, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Maple Leafs swapped ex-Islanders coaches for Craig Berube’s new staff on Wednesday.
The team announced Lane Lambert has been hired as an associate coach, his first job since the Islanders fired him on Jan. 20 in favor of Patrick Roy. The Maple Leafs also announced assistant coach Dean Chynoweth, who was selected 13th overall by the Islanders in 1987 before playing parts of seven seasons for the franchise and later serving as an assistant coach under Scott Gordon, would not return after three seasons.
Chynoweth, 55, could follow coach Sheldon Keefe, fired by the Maple Leafs after their first-round playoff elimination and subsequently hired by the Devils, to New Jersey.
Lambert, 59, returns to the role he filled with the Islanders under Barry Trotz before being elevated to replace his longtime boss for the 2022-23 season. He went 61-46-20 overall with the Islanders, who qualified for the playoffs but were eliminated by the Hurricanes in six games in the first round in Lambert’s only full season at the helm.
The Islanders were 19-15-11 but in a 2-6-2 slump when president/general manager Lou Lamoriello relieved him of his duties.
Lambert also spent three seasons serving as Trotz’s assistant coach with the Predators from 2011-14 and four more with the Capitals from 2014-18 before they both joined the Islanders. That included the Capitals’ first Stanley Cup in 2018.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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