Toronto Maple Leafs: Can Lou Replicate His Success In NY?
By Josh Tessler
Lou Lamoriello was successful in his stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
During his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Lamoriello did a great job. With him running the show, the Maple Leafs drafted Auston Matthews, traded for Frederik Andersen and lured Patrick Marleau to the GTA.
In addition to the many acquisitions that Lamoriello made, he also brought helped the Toronto Maple Leafs reach the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Without his expertise, who knows if the Maple Leafs would have been as successful.
On April 30th, it was announced that he would no longer remain general manager. After the announcement, Brendan Shanahan chose to move Lamoriello to a senior advisor role. Shortly after he transitioned to an advisor role, Kyle Dubas, an assistant general manager at the time was promoted to general manager.
Less than a month later, Lamoriello was in charge of hockey operations again in the New York-New Jersey area. Scott D. Malkin and Jon Ledecky, the majority owners of the New York Islanders felt it was time for a change and brought Lamoriello to the Empire State.
Can He Do It Again?
The big question is can Lamoriello replicate his success on Long Island?
To be blunt, it’s not an easy question to answer.
This past season was terrible for the Islanders. They finished the regular season was a 35-37-10 and finished second to last in the Metropolitan Division. Additionally, they led the NHL in GA/GP with 3.57 goals per game. Also, they registered the worst penalty kill percentage in the league. If the Islanders hope to rebound in the 2018-2019 regular season, Lamoriello needs to wrap his head around defense and net-minding.
The only bright spot for the Islanders was in the offensive zone. They averaged 3.18 GF/GP and had the sixth best power-play in the league. While they were successful in the offensive zone, they might be without their biggest scoring threat come July 1st.
If they lose Tavares, it won’t be easy to replace his offensive production. In 82 games played last season, he posted 37 goals, 47 assists and 12 PPG. Unfortunately for the Islanders, there isn’t anyone on the marketplace that can produce identical offensive stats. The closest would be Paul Stastny.
If Lamoriello hopes to mimic the success that he had in Toronto, he needs to sweet talk Tavares into staying. That’s just step one. He’ll also need to add a two defensemen and a goaltender.
Who Might Be A Solid Fit In NY?
With 28 million USD in cap space, the Islanders can afford to bring some talent to the Island. Just don’t forget that approximately 10 million of their cap space will be filled up by Tavares if Lamoriello can persuade him to stay. This leaves roughly 18 million in cap space for the Islanders to play with.
If I were Lamoriello, I’d open up communication with Jim Benning, the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. Benning will likely be looking to sell assets left and right to stock up on draft picks. After the news of Daniel and Henrik Sedin retiring, it is assumed that the Canucks will look to rebuild. They have several assets that they could get a decent haul for including Swedish net-minder, Jacob Markstrom.
Last season, Markstrom was solid in net for the Canucks and registered a 2.71 GAA in 60 games played. With Markstrom in net at Barclays, the Islanders could potentially fix their goalie issues that they had in the 2017-2018 season.
The good news for the Islanders is that Markstrom won’t eat much of their cap space. He only carries a 3.66 million cap hit for the next two seasons.
Defensive Options
Let’s jump to how Lamoriello can improve the Islanders’ defensive units.
With approximately 14 million in cap space, they could go out and bring a defenseman like John Carlson to New York. If Lamoriello added Carlson via free agency, he’d add a much needed offensive defenseman to his blue-line. He’d be a solid power-play quarterback for the Islanders and could lessen the blow if Eberle leaves in July.
After luring Carlson to New York, Lamoriello could try bring back Calvin de Haan. de Haan has proved to be extremely useful for the Islanders over the years. He’s a blocking machine and gives the Islanders physicality on their blue-line. In 33 games played last season, he logged 45 hits and 65 blocks.
If Lamoriello can sign de Haan and Carlson to new contracts, the Islanders’ defense will be in good shape.
Next: Should Leafs Pursue Thornton?
All-in-all, there a million different options that Lamoriello could roll with. Lamoriello has 28 million in cap space and could lure some talented defensemen and/or goaltenders with that chunk of change. He’ll also have enough salary to play with to bring Tavares back. So, it’s safe to say that he has a good chance of reviving the Islanders.
stats from hockey-reference.com and NHL.com