Islanders' GM search sped up by draft-lottery win?

The New York Islanders may be getting closer to a big decision.

The Isles’ general manager search already made the organization a point of focus in the hockey world, and that was before the balls fell their way on Monday night at the NHL Draft Lottery, where New York jumped up 10 spots to land the No. 1 pick.

Did that make an already-attractive job that much more enticing?

“I’ll say this, it didn’t hurt!” said Elliotte Friedman on the latest edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.

Indeed, Friedman thought a process that was already turning for home might wrap up even quicker now that the Islanders have less than two months to figure out who they’ll be taking at the top of the 2025 draft class.

“The biggest question I have after (winning the lottery) is, how much faster are they working to get this done? You cannot screw up this pick,” he added. “I think the Islanders wanted it to be pretty quick to begin with, now I think it might be even faster.”

In terms of candidates, Friedman amplified some reporting by The Athletic’s Arthur Staple in terms of who New York is targeting.

“I think (Former Red Wings and Oilers executive) Ken Holland has been in there, I think he’s met with them. He’s a very, very legitimate contender,” Friedman said. “(Staple) had also said they were going to reach out to Montreal to ask for permission to speak to (Canadiens president of hockey operations and former Rangers GM) Jeff Gorton. I’m not 100 per cent convinced (doing that) is decided one way or the other, so I’m going to leave that open.

“You’ve heard some of the other names; (former Canadiens GM) Marc Bergevin; (former Blue Jackets GM) Jarmo Kekalainen. One of the things I have heard is the Islanders have asked around about some different candidates. Like, is there anybody out there we should be looking into who isn’t obvious?”

As it happens, Bergevin is linked to the other GM vacancy in the NHL, too. The 59-year-old is a senior advisor for a Kings team that just parted ways with former GM Rob Blake. At one point, Bergevin may have seemed like the natural successor to Blake, but Friedman isn’t sure that’s how things will proceed.

“A lot of people thought the day Blake was done, it would be Marc Bergevin’s move into the GM chair,” he said. “I don’t know how everybody interpreted it, but after (Kings president Luc Robitaille’s) media conference, I’m not so certain (that’s the case) anymore. I could be totally wrong, we’ll see how it plays out. They have other internal candidates. (Assistant GM) Nelson Emerson has been there a long time; (director of amateur scouting Mark) Yanetti has been there a long time. But I certainly was left with the impression the Kings weren’t 100 per cent certain they were going internal.”

Any time there’s change at the top, you wonder about the trickle-down effect. While Robitaille said coach Jim Hiller is under contract and expected to be back next fall, Friedman noted several key Kings — forwards Adrian Kempe, Tanner Jeannot, Alex Laferriere, Andrei Kuzmenko and defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov — are all either due new deals or eligible for extensions and it will be interesting to see how a fresh new face approaches things.

He also noted a certain pending-UFA who was dealt at the deadline had piqued the Kings' interest ahead of the trade deadline before he landed with the Florida Panthers.

“I think the Kings were one of the teams that took a real run at Brad Marchand,” Friedman said.

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