The New York Islanders have hired Ryan Bowness as an assistant general manager and director of player personnel under new GM Mathieu Darche, the team announced Monday.
Bowness spent the last three seasons with the Ottawa Senators, first as an assistant general manager before spending last year as the associate general manager. He also spent six years with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2016 to 2022 as the director of pro scouting, winning a Stanley Cup with them in 2017.
The 41-year-old is the latest addition to a revamped front office, which saw Lou Lamoriello’s seven-year reign come to an end after the Islanders missed the playoffs for the second time in four years. New York hired Darche, a long-time member of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s front office, to take over as GM last month.
During his time in Ottawa, Bowness served as the Belleville Senators — the NHL Senators’ minor-league affiliate in the AHL — general manager, helping them make the playoffs once. The hire casts further questions about the future of current Islanders assistant GM Chris Lamoriello, son of Lou, who reportedly had his contract extended before his father was shown the door. New York’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport was one of the worst teams in the minor-league circuit last year, going an abysmal 15-50-5 in 72 games.
Bowness is the son of former Islanders head coach Rick Bowness, who held the position for parts of two seasons between 1996 and 1998.
