All eyes should be on Islanders owners

It's time for Islanders owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky to provide answers in finding solutions to make sure this failure of a season don't carry through next year.

I only watched one Islanders game this season, and that was only for a token column I wrote for that team. 

The column featured the Islanders’ 5-1 loss to the Rangers on Feb. 25. It emphasized why I have been apathetic about the Islanders all season long.

I had no interest after they did nothing to improve the team. They ran it back with the same roster that has not been good in recent years, and most of all, Lou Lamoriello was back as the president of hockey operations when it was time for him to go. 

Is it really surprising they were mediocre all season, resulting in no playoff appearance this year?

We can blame Lamoriello, but that’s beside the point. The Islanders problems go beyond just him.

It’s on Islanders owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky. They are the ones who believed in Lamoriello when it was past time to change hockey bosses.

Look, Lamoriello accomplished plenty in the game of hockey. There’s a reason he is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. His work with the Devils resulted in three championships and plenty of playoff appearances. He created a standard that is hard to match.

When he came to run the Islanders, it was the move to make. He knew how to run an organization. He would bring stability and order. There were plenty of great things he did with them, such as overseeing the UBS Arena and creating playoff appearances.

No one can take this away from him. In the end, history should remember him fondly for his time with the Islanders.

But sports are about what you have done for me lately. The Islanders have been trending downward for the last four seasons. Yes, they made the playoffs the last two seasons, but they were also one-and-out against a superior Carolina Hurricanes team in the first round. They are not heading in the right direction.

This is on Lamoriello. He has not made this club any better. It’s hard to come up with a young player the Islanders produced under his watch. The team looks old and dull. They don’t inspire fear in other teams. They have become an easy team to play against.

Here’s the bottom line: There’s no hope for this franchise.

This is why it’s time for a change. The Islanders need to hire a general manager who gets today’s hockey. This means they need to hire a hockey boss who knows how to find scorers and skaters.

Lamoriello has failed to adapt to today’s hockey. He believes teams win by grit and defense based on how his Devils won. That was a long time ago.

He has had plenty of opportunities to learn and adapt. He hasn’t, and at 82, he has no interest in learning new tricks.

This is why it’s on ownership to do something. 

In a perfect world, Lamoriello would do the right thing by resigning. That’s not him. He has zero interest in quitting because he feels he wants to be part of the solution.

This is why ownership needs to fire Lamoriello along with his son Chris. It may sound cruel, but there’s no time for empathy and sentiment in a corrupt business like pro sports. The malaise surrounding the team requires action. The Islanders went as far as they could with the Lamoriellos.

Yes, there’s no guarantee it won’t get better under a new front office.

But the franchise can’t be running it back with the same front office that really has no answers.

The Athletic’s Arthur Staple mentioned Lamoriello is likely going to be back. Now things can change, but if it’s really true, there’s no reason to watch Islanders hockey next year, either.

Fans want hope, and that’s why there have to be changes.

Malkin and Ledecky have done everything right overall. They have invested in this franchise by spending money and making sure the arena was built. They created a great fan experience. 

But again, sports are about what you have done for me lately. All of this is on them, too. If they are keeping Lamoriello, then they become the problem as much as him. By keeping him, they will admit they have no idea what they are doing when it comes to doing a general manager search, so they are hoping for the best by staying with the same hockey boss.

In sports, hoping for the best is not a strategy.

Fans understandably want answers from Malkin and Ledecky after an unwatchable season.

It’s time for the Islanders owners to show they are not the problem by doing something.