Lou Lamoriello moved quickly to shake up the New York Islanders by firing coach Doug Weight and General Manager Garth Snow and naming himself the team's new GM just two weeks after taking over as president of hockey operations.
Lamoriello made the moves Tuesday that begin to reshape the organization in his image, two weeks to the day ownership said he'd have "full authority over all hockey matters." Lamoriello left the Maple Leafs to run the Islanders and will begin the search for a new coach immediately.
"It's my opinion that at this point there's a culture change that's needed and there's new voices needed in different areas and because of that, the changes (were) made," Lamoriello said on a conference call with reporters. "There's been a lot of changes for different reasons, and right now is just trying to stabilize anything, start off with a fresh face, start off with a fresh mind, a fresh coach and just go forward."
The Islanders missed the playoffs eight times in Snow's 12 years as general manager, including the past two seasons. He has four years left on the contract he signed when Wang still owned the team.
"Both Garth, who is a personal friend and one who I've known for a long time and also Dougie, who played for me in '96 and '98, I have tremendous respect for," Lamoriello said.
money matters
Mayweather top earner
Floyd Mayweather is the champ at making money. Forbes magazine reported Tuesday that the boxer is again the highest-paid athlete and for the fourth time in seven years. His estimated earnings, including endorsements, for 2017 were $285 million. That stems largely from his bout last August with UFC's Conor McGregor.
Mayweather overtook soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo, who held the money crown the previous two years.
