Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leagues Oldest General Manager
The Toronto Maple Leafs may have some front office shuffling to do soon.
Lou Lamoriello signed a three-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 after a long tenure with the New Jersey Devils.
Well, those three years will expire at the end of the 2017-18 season, meaning the Leafs will need to make a move on resigning him or going in a new direction.
In my opinion, Lamoriello has done a stellar job as the Leafs general manager and I wouldn’t mind something like a one-year extension.
I’m not too worried as to who will replace him (he will obviously be replaced at some point), but we’ll get there in a little bit.
Some people tend to disagree with my opinion, which is fine, they’d like to run him out of town for strange reasons.
There’s an old proverb about gray hair, believe it or not, which the soon to be 75-year-old general manager has in abundance, at least on the sides and back.
Coincidence, I think not.
Yes, that was a little off topic, just let me have this because I needed to fit the old age thing in somewhere.
Before we get to his ideal replacement, let’s look at some of the major accomplishments he’s made with the Leafs.
Lou Lamoriello
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The first thing that comes to mind is trading away Dion Phaneuf and his monstrosity of a contract, without retaining any salary.
Truly remarkable.
Another thing of note was handling the Phil Kessel trade after-effect and although the Leafs retained some salary there ($1.2 million through the 2021-22 season), they did receive a highly talked about prospect in Kasperi Kapanen.
I’ve read some comments from people over the last few months who don’t like Lamoriello but love Kapanen, so I just wanted to bridge the connection for you in that regard that Kappy still has a place with the Leafs in large due to Lamoriello.
Without Lamoriello, the Leafs wouldn’t have this great problem of what to do and when to do it regarding Kappy.
Robidas Island, need I say more on that?
Lamoriello also oversaw the resigning of Nazem Kadri ($4.5 million for six years) and Morgan Rielly ($5 million for six years).
Matt Martin, Nikita Zaitsev, and Frederik Andersen are also some pretty big acquisitions that Lamoriello pulled off.
More recently, he managed to acquire Patrick Marleau, which will help other free agents see Toronto as a safe landing zone in the future and that’s without mentioning what he actually brings to the ice.
Lamoriello’s been wheeling and dealing while maintaining a healthy cap situation too.
Continued
He, along with his comrades, oversaw the drafting/developing of key pieces that will serve as the foundation for a potential Stanley Cup dynasty team, so Lamoriello’s been a monumental part of the Leafs success, don’t think he hasn’t been.
Even just the culture that the Leafs represent today wouldn’t have been possible without this man, so don’t tell me that Shanahan made a mistake in hiring him.
I’m of the view that signing Ron Hainsey, Dominic Moore, and Curtis McElhinney will prove to be invaluable for next season at least, then we can get into Hainsey’s one extra year.
There’s plenty more that goes into a general managers role, but I think the examples I showcased above will do.
All of this goes hand in hand with Mike Babcock and Brendan Shanahan as well because, without them, none of the above would’ve been accomplished.
Mark Hunter and Kyle Dubas
Now, take a look at the two men in the picture for this article with Lamoriello, those are the two candidates to replace him, either would be great for this team.
Hunter represents a brilliant hockey mind in regards to drafting and developing while Dubas is just one of the smartest young minds in the game.
The only downside is that they would both have to earn the respect that Lamoriello gets daily.
Why?
Lamoriello’s been in this business a very long time, sure, he’s made some mistakes, but he’s also demanded respect around every corner.
You can’t buy into that, you have to earn it.
I can image when Lamoriello was talking to a guy like Marleau about signing here, how much more reassuring it was for Patty to make the decision because of Lamoriello.
Try subbing in a person less than half his age (Dubas) and see if the outcome’s the same, chances are that it wouldn’t be.
Don’t take for granted what we have right now because although Hunter and Dubas would both make a great replacement for Lou, neither would be him and so far, it’s been pretty good having this old man in charge.
Things are shaping up for the Leafs, no need to worry on that front.