For the last four years, Admirals head coach Lane Lambert has helped develop some of the best and brightest young stars in the Nashville Predators organization.

Now, Lambert will be joining them.

The Admirals announced today that Lambert is stepping down as head coach and will join the Predators staff as an assistant next season.

"This is a sign of a gentleman who has worked extremely hard, not only developing players but developing himself," Admirals owner Harris Turer, Jr. said. "Those talents have not gone unnoticed."

In four years with the Admirals, Lambert put together an impressive 178-103-11-28 record (395) points. Twice, his teams won the West Division and Western Conference championships, including this past season, when the Admirals went 44-22-6-8.

The 46-year-old native of Melfort, Saskatchewan leaves Milwaukee tied for second in franchise history with 230 games coached and third with 178 career victories. He is one of just two coaches in Admirals history to own a winning record in the postseason and is second on the franchise all-time list with 38 playoff games and 19 victories.

He said the decision to leave Milwaukee along with his wife and daughters was difficult both because of his teams' success and the friendships he and his family developed over the years, both on and off the rink.

"At some point in time, you have to leave if you want to move forward," Lambert said. "The only was I was going to leave this organization and Milwaukee and the relationships I have with the people here is if it was the right for me to go to the National Hockey League and I think it is. I'm excited about it. I'm happy about it."

Lambert will replace Brent Peterson on head coach Barry Trotz's staff. Peterson stepped down at the conclusion of the Predators' season due to his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease. Both he and Trotz had been together since 1998, the franchise's first season.

He'll see a lot of familiar faces in Nashville. Of the 33 players to appear in a game last season for the Predators, 17 of them played at one point in time for Lambert in Milwaukee. In Lambert's four seasons, 25 players have played for both Milwaukee and Nashville, including 11 last season.

The Milwaukee influence paid dividends this past season as Nashville finished second in the Central Division with 99 points (44-27-11) and advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history before falling to eventual the eventual Western Conference champion, Vancouver, in six games.

Lambert expects the familiarity will lead to further success.

"For me to go in there and have that trust factor with those players that I've coached, guys that know how I'm wired a little bit, I think it's a good fit for me and a good fit for them," Lambert said.

Predators general manager David Poile echoed that sentiment, saying that the organization's philosophy of building from within applied not only to players but to the coaching staff, as well.

"Lane is one of the best young up-and-coming coaches in the sport today," Poile said. "Lane has successfully coached and mentored more than half the players on our current roster, and many more who are coming through the pipeline, so he will fit seamlessly into Barry Trotz's staff."

Prior to joining Milwaukee for the 2005-06 season as an assistant under Claude Noel, he spent two seasons as an assistant with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League. In 2003, he became head coach of the WHL's Prince George Cougars and left for the American Hockey League in 2005 when he was hired as an assistant under Dave Baseggio.

Prior to coaching, Lambert played 18 professional seasons, including 283 NHL games with Detroit, the New York Rangers and the Quebec Nordiques, finishing with 123 career points (58 goals, 65 assists) and 521 penalty minutes. His final three seasons were spent with the Houston Areos, then of the International Hockey League.

The Admirals said that a search for Lambert's replacement would begin immediately. Assistant coach Ian Herbers, who spent the last two years on Lambert's staff, is expected to be a leading candidate.