Lou Lamoriello Moves On

It seems to be an end of an era for one general manager.

Lou Lamoriello has resigned as general manager of the New Jersey Devils to become the new GM of the so-far-depressing Toronto Maple Leafs. Lamoriello had stepped down from the Devils after the team missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season. For some of us, this move might mean that he is transitioning towards retirement. Ray Shero has been hired on to replace Lamoriello as GM of the Devils.

Lamoriello is one of the more well-respected figures in the game, and he is described as a strong personality and has helped the Devils win the Stanley Cup several times. His hiring by the Maple Leafs also signals that the guy he drafted, Leafs President Brendan Shanahan, doesn't want to be the one calling the management shots.

Lamoriello is inheriting the team that has had poor defense in recent years. The Leafs are hoping his winning ways in Jersey with a strong defensive play with transition over with the Maple Leafs.

Look at what the Leafs have done. They've hired Mike Babcock as the coach, Brendan Shanahan as the President, and now Lou Lamoriello as the general manager. It would not surprise me if the expectations are already high for these three.

I think Lamoriello knew that the Devils were not going to get any better. They didn't really make a splash in free agency and they only acquired a few good players in trades, like Kyle Palmeiri from the Ducks. The one question I have is: Why do this now and not before the draft or free agency? This move seems a little late, but maybe there was something behind the scenes on that team that Lamoriello felt wouldn't translate to a winning team. I am sort of stunned it's right now, but I didn't really think the Devils were going to get better while Lamoriello was still there. I do respect his style of play and how he makes management decisions, but I think the time has come for him to move on, and he's moving on to a team that might have the chance to get into the playoffs.

Now Lamoriello is inheriting a team that has very poor defensive play in the past couple seasons, and a team that just traded Phil Kessel to the Maple Leafs. You know, part of me wonders if the Leafs were actually trying to get him all along and were just waiting for him to hand the GM mantle of the Devils over to someone. We don't know. But Lamoriello's gonna have to figure out how to best work with the defense he has now. Does he make a trade to try to acquire someone who has a better defensive mindset? Or does he go with the team he has now and try to fit the pieces into place? Either way, Lamoriello's gonna have to do some damage control if he wants the Leafs to get better in their defensive play.

Lou Lamoriello's time in New Jersey has come to an end after 27 years of being the Devils' general manager. Now he moves on to a team that has a lot of work to do and Lamoriello will be the one to figure out where they go and what they do with that defense this season. And if anybody knows strong defensive play, you can bet it's him.