Well, the mystery surrounding Lou Lamoriello didn't last too long. 

About three weeks after the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they wouldn't be retaining Lamoriello as their general manager, the veteran NHL exec will take over another club. The Athletic's Arthur Staple reported Monday that Lamoriello will assume hockey operations for the New York Islanders. 

The club confirmed that news on Tuesday, officially naming Lamoriello as President of Hockey Operations in a statement published on their website.

"We are grateful to Larry Tanenbaum and the Toronto Maple Leafs for their courtesy in allowing this move," Managing Partner of the Islanders, Scott Malkin said in that statement. "We are committed to giving Lou every resource and the full support of the entire organization as we pursue our program to compete at the highest level."  

"I am excited to join such a storied franchise and look forward to working with Scott Malkin and the entire New York Islanders organization," Lamoriello said. 

It's not entirely clear where the appointment of Lamoriello leaves Garth Snow, who has been the Isles' general manager for the last 12 years. Snow's name was not mentioned once in the team's release.

Lamoriello's arrival in Long Island likely gives the Islanders their best chance to retain star captain John Tavares, who is a pending unrestricted free agent nearing the open market. Prior to his official employment with the Islanders, multiple sources reported that Lamoriello had already met with Tavares while representing the club.

Lamoriello, 75, served as the Leafs' general manager from 2015 until April, when the team announced they were going through with a plan to instate Lamoriello's successor while he transitioned into a role as a senior adviser. The Leafs later promoted assistant general manager Kyle Dubas to GM.

There were immediate rumblings of Lamoriello potentially taking over the Islanders' front office, which employs his son, Chris, as assistant general manager. But Lamoriello appeared to quash those rumors by reinforcing his commitment to the Maple Leafs on a conference call following the announcement of his removal as GM.

Obviously, things have changed.

Lamoriello was an integral part of the Maple Leafs' rapid rebuilding process over the past three years. That rebuilding has gone well, as the Leafs have established a solid young core that has delivered a postseason berth in each of the past two seasons -- including a franchise-record 105 points this season.

Prior to his stint in Toronto, Lamoriello spent 27 seasons as general manager of the New Jersey Devils, winning three Stanley Cups with the organization.

The Islanders are coming off another disappointing season in which they finished sixth in their division missed the playoffs. Since drafting Tavares first overall in 2009, the team has made the postseason just three times and has only won one playoff series. (Their only playoff series win since 1993.)

In addition to their struggles on the ice, the team has been plagued by an inability to settle into an adequate long-term home area. The team left the outdated Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in favor of the Barclays Center in 2015, but their residence in Brooklyn has been marked by the poor ice quality, attendance issues, and obstructed seating.

However, the team recently won a bid to develop a new billion-dollar arena at Belmont Park, which is expected to open in 2021. Until then, the team will split their home games between Barclays and the updated Nassau building.

With a highly respected exec like Lamoriello at the helm, plus the new arena in the works, it appears the Isles may have a fighting chance at keeping Tavares around. But even if they can't convince him to stick around, Lamoriello has a proven track record of being able to build a winner from scratch.