The Islanders made the playoffs in five of seven seasons under Lamoriello, a Hall of Fame executive who turns 83 in October and has been an NHL GM continuously since 1987. But the Islanders went 35-35-12 this season to finish sixth in the Metropolitan Division, nine points behind the Canadiens for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.

New York Islanders principal owner Scott Malkin and co-owners Jon Ledecky and John Collins made an aggressive move on Tuesday, pulling the plug on Lou Lamoriello’s tenure as president and general manager after seven years.

When you’ve reached the pinnacle of the hockey management world, like now-former New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello did, you have to know you’re always working on borrowed time.