Lamoriello had surrendered his position as Devils GM, replaced by Ray Shero, after his team’s crumby, stumbly 2014-15 season. For all intents and purposes, he appeared headed for retirement.
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But Brendan Shanahan had a different idea. A former Devils player, Shanahan is president of the Leafs. As such, he is trying to turn around an Original Six franchise that has plumbed the NHL’s depths for years.
Since firing Dave Nonis after the season, Shanahan had been seeking the right man for the job.
On Thursday, Shanny either hit pay dirt or made a colossal mistake. Only time will tell. At least the Leafs now have a veteran hand to give guidance to Kyle Dubas and Mark Hunter, assistant GMs under a headmaster.
Lamoriello, inducted as a builder into the Hockey Hall of Fame, resigned as Devils president on Thursday, more than two months after resigning as GM. Within minutes, the Leafs announced him as their new GM.
“Lou Lamoriello created and defined what it meant to be a New Jersey Devil,” Devils co-owner Josh Harris said in a statement. “His brilliance in shaping this franchise into one of the most storied and celebrated organizations in sport will make him a New Jersey Devil for life. He represented this organization, our current and former players, the state of New Jersey, and the greatest fans in the National Hockey League in a manner that exemplified character, class, and dignity.”
Stinging from Wayne Gretzky labeling the Devils as a Mickey Mouse organization, team officials turned to Lamoriello in April 1987. Within months he moved from team president to GM, starting a talent collection that would be the linchpins of the Stanley Cup teams. Martin Brodeur, first overall in 1990; Bill Guerin, fifth in 1989; Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rolston, both 1991 first-round picks.
Shanahan was the second overall pick of the 1987 Draft, and when the Blues stole him away as a restricted free agent Lamoriello demanded Scott Stevens in return. An arbiter agreed.
Shrewd moves and smart draft decisions brought the talent Lamoriello needed to coach Jacques Lemaire to win the Stanley Cup in 1995. The Devils won again win Lou’s nucleus in 2000 and lost in the finals in 2001. They won again in 2003.
But as the team aged, Lamoriello seemingly lost his touch. Last season was the third in a row in which the Devils missed the playoffs. The year before, they lost in the Cup finals.
It’s instructive to read NJ.com writer Steve Politi’s review of the Lamoriello era, which appeared when ownership decided to put the franchise in Shero’s hands.
Instead of “In Lou we trust,” the team’s mantra became changes and rejuvenation.
The Leafs could use Lamoriello. They have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, the last playoff year of the Original Six era. They haven’t been competitive for year. And Shanahan is performing a gut rehab, trying to rid the roster of underperforming players and moving tradable talent for help while clearing salary cap space.
Phil Kessel, talented by selfish, was shipped to the Penguins. There will be other moves coming.
“Lou will fit in very, very well and be an incredible boost to what we are trying to accomplish here in Toronto,” Shanahan said, according to The Toronto Star. He also said he has long admired Lamoriello — “I learned an awful lot from him. I learned about being a pro and what it means to be a pro.”
Lamoriello admitted any turnaround in Toronto would not be easy.
“Winning doesn’t happen because you say it, it happens because of everything you do leading to it,” Lamoriello said.
Critics contend, and many observers agree, that Lamoriello was the root of the Devils’ problems. Now he tackles the Leafs, whose institutional morass is just as bad, if not worse.
Suggestions are that Lamoriello will become a mentor for young Leafs execs, and he will have Shanahan’s ear. He also will be expected to perform. No way Shanahan, who is reshaping the Leafs in his own image, will let Lou run wild.
But Shanahan is something of a Lamoriello disciple. NBC Sports noted an incident last season in which Shanny channeled Lamoriello in punishing young forward Nazem Kadri for personal indiscretions.
At 72, Lamoriello might not last long with the Leafs. He gave his heart and soul to the Devils, and his expertise is critical to the Leafs’ development — at least in Shanahan’s eyes.
