Lane Lambert knows mistakes were made. Lessons were also learned.
His first opportunity as an NHL head coach came when the New York Islanders handed him the reins after 11 seasons in a supporting role with three different organizations.
Lambert would only last 127 games in the top job on Long Island following four campaigns as an associate under Barry Trotz. Having dusted himself off and taken some time to reflect, he’s hoping for a much longer runway in his new gig.
Lambert was hired by the Seattle Kraken in May — the franchise’s third bench boss in five campaigns since entering the league — and has the club off to a solid start in 2025-26.
“It’s just experiences,” Lambert said when asked how he’s a different coach this time around. “There’s certain things that maybe you’ve done in the past where you say, ‘Oh, gee, if I had that over, I would do it differently.’ Won’t expand on what those are, but certainly experience would give you the opportunity to do things, I guess, better.
“Unless arrogance keeps you from doing that.”
Seattle started the schedule 3-0-2 for its best-ever opening five-game stretch before consecutive regulation road losses to the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals this week on a back-to-back. The Kraken wrap up a difficult road trip Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets.
“Compete and work,” Lambert said of his message since training camp. “We’ve paid pretty close attention to our details and our structure and our defensive game, and piggyback the offence off of that.”
One of eight NHL head coaches in new surroundings, Lambert replaced Dan Bylsma after his one season in charge.
The 60-year-old from Melfort, Sask., who played 300 combined NHL games in the 1980s and won the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with Washington in 2018, has impressed early on in Seattle.
“Love his intensity,” Kraken defenceman Vince Dunn said. “When he’s going through video, when it’s something positive, he’s just as intense as when it’s something negative. You feel that energy at all times when he’s behind you and leading a group that definitely needed that.
“He’s been great to connect with the guys, and he’s very personable. Having that aspect and then having him play that role in the dressing room, it’s been a really good balance.”
Lambert spent 2024-25 as an associate on Craig Berube’s staff with the Toronto Maple Leafs after getting fired by the Islanders. He helped the Original Six club make the second round of the playoffs last spring before falling to the Florida Panthers, who would go on to win their second straight Stanley Cup.
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Kraken captain Jordan Eberle was in New York when the club made back-to-back conference finals in 2020 and 2021 with Trotz in charge and Lambert by his side.
“He’s intense, he’s direct,” Eberle said of the Kraken’s new coach. “His message is really non-negotiable — this is how we’re going to do things, and that’s what I love.”
Seattle centre Chandler Stephenson said Lambert’s attention to detail and competitiveness stand out.
“Guys want to play for him,” he added. “Demands and expects a lot, but also gets the game within the game.”
After visiting the Jets, Lambert’s group will head home looking to make even more noise in the Pacific Division when the Edmonton Oilers come to town Saturday night.
“There’s always improvements to be made,” he said. “It’s a work in progress.”
Islanders defenceman Matthew Schaefer — the No. 1 pick at the 2025 NHL draft — is off to a torrid start in his rookie campaign. The 18-year-old blueliner from Hamilton has two goals and five assists through six games, including the first two-point performance of his career Tuesday in a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
Ottawa took a big step last season by making the playoffs for the first time since 2017, but has stumbled out of the gate. The Senators sit 2-4-1 on the campaign, with their only regulation victory coming opening night. Minus injured captain Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa ranks last in penalty killing at an abysmal 57.7 per cent and had allowed the second-most goals against per game at 4.71 heading into Wednesday.
Leafs centre John Tavares sits two goals shy of becoming the 49th player in NHL history to reach 500. The 35-year-old also recently joined Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Ron Francis as the only men to register 500 points with two franchises. “A hockey player through and through,” Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “He deserves to be in that company all day. He’s a very impressive guy.”
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