# Lane Lambert

Lane Douglas Lambert (born November 18, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is an associate coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted 25th overall in the second round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, Lambert played 283 games in the NHL for the Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings between 1983 and 1989.

## Coaching career

Lambert was hired as the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) in July 2007, a position he held until he was promoted as an assistant coach for the Nashville Predators on June 9, 2011. He was also an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals during their 2018 Stanley Cup run, however he signed with the New York Islanders after head coach Barry Trotz signed with the team in 2018.
After Trotz's firing following the 2021–22 season, on May 16, 2022, Lambert was promoted to head coach of the Islanders. The Islanders fired Lambert on January 20, 2024, after the team started the 2023–24 season with a 19–15–11 record and were out of playoff contention at that time.
On June 5, 2024, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that Lambert had been hired as an associate coach.

## Awards

* WHL Second All-Star Team – 1983

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1980–81 | Swift Current Broncos | SJHL | 55 | 43 | 54 | 97 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1981–82 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 72 | 45 | 69 | 114 | 111 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25 |
| 1982–83 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 64 | 59 | 60 | 119 | 126 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 |
| 1983–84 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 73 | 20 | 15 | 35 | 115 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1984–85 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985–86 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 34 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 130 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985–86 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 45 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 69 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 9 |
| 1986–87 | New York Rangers | NHL | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986–87 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986–87 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 15 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 30 |
| 1987–88 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 61 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988–89 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988–89 | Halifax Citadels | AHL | 59 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 162 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1989–90 | Düsseldorfer EG | GER | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989–90 | Canadian national team | Intl | 54 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990–91 | HC Ajoie | NLB | 36 | 40 | 45 | 85 | 82 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 30 |
| 1990–91 | Canadian national team | Intl | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1991–92 | HC Ajoie | NLB | 35 | 51 | 38 | 89 | 125 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 14 |
| 1992–93 | HC Ajoie | NLA | 25 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993–94 | HC La Chaux-de-Fonds | NLB | 36 | 39 | 29 | 68 | 62 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
| 1994–95 | SC Langnau | NLB | 36 | 37 | 44 | 81 | 60 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 33 |
| 1995–96 | SC Langnau | NLB | 33 | 39 | 40 | 79 | 64 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 14 |
| 1996–97 | Cleveland Lumberjacks | IHL | 75 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 94 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 21 |
| 1997–98 | Cleveland Lumberjacks | IHL | 39 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 60 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Cleveland Lumberjacks | IHL | 36 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | Houston Aeros | IHL | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 26 |
| 1999–00 | Houston Aeros | IHL | 77 | 21 | 9 | 30 | 88 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 2000–01 | Houston Aeros | IHL | 66 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 70 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 283 | 58 | 66 | 124 | 521 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 40 |

## Head coaching record

| Team | Year | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win % | Result |
| NYI | 2022–23 | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 93 | 4th in Metropolitan | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost in first round (CAR) |
| NYI | 2023–24 | 45 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 49 | (fired) | — | — | — | — |
| Total | Total | 127 | 61 | 46 | 20 | | | 2 | 4 | .333 | 1 playoff appearance |

## Personal life

Lambert was born in Melfort, Saskatchewan. His wife died on September 16, 2015, from breast cancer. They had one daughter together and Lambert has another daughter from a previous marriage.
Lambert and his third wife have four children.
Lambert has two brothers, Dale and Ross, who also played ice hockey. His nephew Jimmy played for the University of Michigan, while his other nephew, Brad, was selected 30th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.