The Toronto Maple Leafs appointed Lane Lambert as an associate coach on Wednesday. Lambert joins the staff of Craig Berube, who was hired on May 17 to replace Sheldon Keefe. Keefe was dismissed after the Maple Leafs lost their first-round playoff series to the Boston Bruins in seven games.
Previously, Lambert was fired by the New York Islanders on January 20, during his second season as head coach. At the time of his dismissal, the Islanders had a record of 19-15-11 (49 points) and were in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Lambert, 59, had served as an Islanders associate coach for four seasons before being promoted for the 2022-23 season. That year, the team finished with a 42-31-9 record (93 points) and was eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in six games during the first round of the playoffs.
A native of Saskatchewan, Lambert has also held assistant coaching positions with the Washington Capitals (2014-18) and the Nashville Predators (2011-14). He was part of the coaching staff when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018.
Additionally, the Maple Leafs announced that assistant coach Dean Chynoweth will not return for the 2024-25 season. Chynoweth was hired by Keefe in July 2021 to replace Dave Hakstol, who had become the first coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken.