Lou Lamoriello will be running the Islanders’ hockey operations in a matter of days, sources confirmed to The Athletic on Monday. The former Devils and Leafs general manager has been rumored to be coming in, either as president of hockey operations, GM or both to replace Garth Snow, and now it’s a matter of when and not if.



Two sources also confirmed an online report from the French-language website Hockey30 that Lamoriello met with John Tavares last week, clearly in anticipation of assuming control of the Islanders. Tavares, as you all know, will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after playing out the final year of his contract with the Isles in 2017-18.



Where this leaves Snow, the Isles GM for the previous 12 seasons, is unclear. He and head coach Doug Weight arrived back on Long Island on Monday after spending last week at the World Championships along with Eric Cairns, director of player development, and other front-office staffers. Snow’s...