The Toronto Maple Leafs announced the hiring of now-former New Jersey Devils general manager and president Lou Lamoriello as their new GM.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A bombshell announcement by the Maple Leafs. This move officially signals the end of Lamoriello’s longstanding ties with the Devils, and opens an interesting new chapter for the rebuilding Leafs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired former Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello as their new GM.
On the one hand, Lamoriello brings decades of NHL management experience to the Leafs’ front office. He built the Devils into a powerhouse in the 1990s, winning three Stanley Cup titles between 1995 and 2003. On the other hand, during Lamoriello’s final years with the Devils, the club steadily declined into an also-ran. Their surprising march to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final could be considered a fluke, as it was the only season since 2010-11 the Devils reached the playoffs.
Lamoriello’s supporters believe he was hampered during that period by years of uncertain ownership and limited budgets. His critics, however, feel he’s past his management prime and unable to work within the salary-cap system he helped to establish during the season-killing 2004-05 lockout.
With the Leafs, Lamoriello will enjoy the benefits of deep-pocketed ownership, a fresh management team and a top NHL coach in Mike Babcock. On the downside, he’ll face the pressure of rebuilding a club which made the playoffs once in the last decade, and won its last championship 48 years ago. He’ll have to endure the pressure of working in the biggest and most intense hockey market in the world.
Lamoriello is well-respected, possesses Hall of Fame experience and a championship pedigree, but he faces the monumental task of succeeding where other notable hockey executives (Jim Gregory, Cliff Fletcher, Pat Quinn, John Ferguson Jr, Brian Burke, Dave Nonis) failed.
Are the Leafs getting the GM who built the Devils into a three-time champion, or the one who presided over their slow, painful demise? Will a change of scenery revive Lamoriello’s creativity, or will he follow the same path in a few years as his predecessors over the past four-plus decades? Long-suffering Leafs fans can only cross their fingers and hope for the best.
WOW! Did not see that coming at all…
(and personally, I don’t think he’ll be great. He turned the Devils into also-rans by consistently mortgaging the future for older, too-experienced players. Exactly what the Leafs say they’re trying to avoid with this rebuild.
But he might do well with this total change. What do I know??)
umm seriously dude
in what world are hall of famers & stanley cup champs not great
Hey Paddy,
I suspect the pressures in NJ to get into the playoffs (for playoff revenues) were significantly higher than they will be here during the rebuild. I’m sure he made some bad calls, but with this team he’s got the mandate from Shanahan to build, not to rush.
I don’t expect anything amazing, just steady as she goes. One thing I do expect is that substantial rumors may be harder to catch wind of as Lou seems to run a very tight ship.
Smart move by the leafs. He brings experience to a relatively inexperienced management team. He’s not going to be making decisions on his own.
Nothing wrong with this hire.
Despite all he’s done, all he’s accomplished, I don’t like this much as its got the potential to backfire badly.
In recent years, he mortgaged the future and if that crap starts again, fans will be choked.
Lamoriello Hockey = Boring Hockey
James
Im from NJ and have been a follower of the team and Lou for many years. He is a winner plain and simple. Bad decision not signing Zach early before he tested the market. He will do a great job with the Leafs
Never underestimate..
Great move by the Leafs.
Mentoring Dubas? That’s the only positive thing I can think of, really.
Things were going along just swimmingly…now this. Hopefully his primary role is input experience connections and grooming others. I’m not sure thats going to be the case but fingers crossed.
Lou won’t have final say on anything. He’s likely being brought in to be the contact person for rival GM’s and to groom Hunter/Dubas for the role a few years down the line. Hunter is still steering the ship from a player personnel perspective. If you’re a rival GM, who do you respect more on the other end of the phone – Lou or Dubas? I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.
Don’t fear shticky
I’m sure that Shanny is still the final work in any kind of personnel movement. This is probably the best teacher that the leafs could have found for hunter and dubas.
Last few year in jersey were not pretty, but when they lost their cup-winning players( either through players leaving or talent and skill dropping) it was tough for him to keep the ship righted with so many other voices clambering behind him.
Hope it all works out
Agreed, ownership interference, and no $$ to work with, he still managed to keep them competitve except for the last few years, which limited prime picks in the draft.Tank nation must be crying in its beer now. They are not going to be pulling Buffalo style hockey.
shticky you must hate this you have bashed lou on here a few times! Im in the same opinion tho I think lou has lost a step in the new style nhl yes he went to the finals in 2012 but I don’t think he is gonna answer to shanny lou has been around to long to do that
Bigbear, respectfully, I think he would rather answer to Shanny being a hockey guy than two suits with money. That said I think he knows and has been told that the rest of the group already assembled ( Hunter, Dubas, Babcock) will outlast him, so come and help us get better. Share your experience, add credibility. Mentor the Executive team. I cannot see the downside, really. Who out there and available would have been a better?
murph… the thing is shanny doesn’t have that much experience either the leafs are his first gig I cant see lou answering to shanny as much as you do pretty sure after the kessel trade they knew they needed a gm with experience
I think Lou is smart enough to have seen and to realize this is not a traditional hockey management group Shanny has put together, and if the Leafs wanted that they could have hired a number of experienced GMs out there. A 3 year deal shows this is mostly mentorship. I think Lou,s big role in addition to that is keeping the Leafs team somewhat competitive on the ice and flipping for prospects and picks as often as possible, and let Dubas and Hunter look after that. I also predict David Conte lands with the buds too.
Ya, I’m not Lous biggest fan…thought we were getting rid of the old boy club seems like we hired its founder….ehh well hopefully it doesn’t cost any of the good moves so far.
If Hunter and Dubus mesh with Lou it will work. If not there may be a dysfunctional mgt team. Almost think that Lou and Shannahan have similar roles-with Lou having more experience both on the hockey and business side.
Complete shock, no doubt, but the more I think of it the more I love it.
Dubas and Hunter are great for evaluating new talent to be drafted into the league. They are modern and forward thing in terms of analytics. The knock with them (Shanny, Dubas and Hunter) was no NHL GM experience. So they hire the most respected executive in hockey. Instant credibility. Connections across the entire league. Decades of experience. 21 playoff entries in 27 years. 5 Cup finals. 3 Cups. Can you imagine Mike Babcock reporting to a newly minted rookie GM? No, so I thought it would be a 4 headed management group. Let people do what they know best. This makes sense. And the difference is that Shanny is the ultimate boss, so no knee jerk reactions like firing the coach in the middle of the playoffs. He is the perfect guy to groom the next GM, assuming that is Dubas or Hunter, or someone else. I like it.
Didn’t he sign Kovalchuk? It’s hard not to look at how bad the Devils are now without remembering how much Lou has to do with that as the Devil’s GM.
And for a GM to have fired as many coaches as he’s done over his career, one really wonders how well he can manage under the Leafs management by committee approach. I doubt he will be happy without the final say in player transactions.
I agree lou will be taking the majority of the reins while he is in toronto
It could even more interesting once they announce the new MLSE CEO. A lot of people brought in from the old guard
My prediction is Saad Rafi, current CEO of PanAm games…mark it down.
I think the hiring of Lou is a good move. Even better move if they make him president and move out Shanahan-when they find a replacement for Leiweke
The Presser left me with the impression that while
discussions were by committee, Lou was going to be the General Manager.
While his mentoring will no doubt benefit the entire management team, I do wonder who long it will take before Lou’s ways start to conflict with the personalities of that headstrong management team currently in place. Yes it could all work out nicely, but the potential for implosion is
definitely there
Apparently, Lou’s deal is for 3 years so its not forever; but a lot of things can happen in 3 years so hopefully, it works out ok for all
Finally…ever since pat burns / pat quinn era I have been screaming at these knuckleheads to think hockey (meaning defense)…not offense, skill, weak systems and personnel that are second rate but paid as stars.
I love all of shannys major moves (except return on kessel) cause this is how i see hockey…hope they play trap and piss off everyone also.
Lou + shanny + Babcock = world class + stanley cups
I mean do they not demand respect, accountability, longevity…
This resolves leaf / player attitude, salaries, and desire..all in one foul swoop.
let the new nhl, bettman, offensive & weak players, salary cap, analysts, leaf haters, steve simmons, whiny media, whiny fans, people that call themselves leaf nation…all take a flying hike and bow to the almight maple leafs from here on in
hockey is back
wasn’t lou once shanahan’s boss in nj
there won’t be a problem with lou whether he is final say or no say. he is what these guys (shanahan & hunter) strives to be.
pecking order will probably be:
scouts > dubas > hunter > lamorello > Shanahan
no one will complain, except dumb media and fans
there will probably be more similarities than dissimilarities then people think
I think this is a great move. Different people bring different assets to the team. Lamoriello is one of the most influential people in hockey of the last 50 years. Like Babcock he’s as respected as anyone in the game. You can’t really fault Shanahan on any of the moves he’s made. No one can guarantee how personalities will mesh but he’s sought out the smartest and most qualified people and recruited them. I think Shanahan still has a role but it’s not to reverse Lou’s player personnel decisions, it’s to make sure the group stays cohesive and stays on mission. And this is why I’m optimistic because unlike past administrations there is a sound mission and everyone knows it and has bought into it – that is to build a contender for 2018-19 and beyond. That’s been the MO for every move this summer and we will see immediately if they’ve stepped off course. I hope they man up and stick with it.
I found this info on wikipedia:
Lamoriello studied the game for a long time before starting to manage at the NHL level. A former high school math teacher, he followed professional hockey closely. When he started with the Devils in 87, he took what he considered to be the BEST PARTS of the great teams — the Green Bay Packers, the New York Yankees and the Montreal Canadiens — and using his ANALYTICAL background, applied them to managing the Devils.
Seems like the PERFECT MENTOR for Dubas AND Shannahan.
Shanny has had a great relationship with him since he was first drafted into the NHL (Lou drafted him, by the way). So ya know he’ll respect Shanny’s final say.
Anyone who’s worked for him shows the utmost respect towards him.
He’ll change the culture in the dressing room IMMEDIATELY.
His reputation has SCARED players into adopting a more team unified attitude, which should help.
Never saw this coming, but still feel it’s a positive.
Good days ahead for the Leafs!!!
This is it! No more excuses. Leafs ownership has hired some of the top names in hockey to turn this franchise around. More Stanley Cup rings (or it seems like it), more international play success, more HOF power than is at the front of any other team in the league.
The big question……..what if it doesn’t work? What if this management can’t get it done? How will the headlines read in Toronto?
Personally, I like Shanahan, Lou, and Babcock. I hope they succeed. It would be a great story if they did. Biggest hurdle that team faces is the media. Team strings together some wins, and the papers start looking for cracks in the dike.
Good luck guys! The fans are rooting for you.
ACS is a hospital! Isn’t it? So give the surgeons and scrub-up team time to bring about a cure to a 48-year “heart” condition.