Toronto Maple Leafs: Writers Vote Lou Lamoriello 3rd Best GM

The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas spoke to the media the other day.

Dubas didn’t really have anything all too interesting to say about the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that’s a problem all GMs have.  All fans want to hear about is trades, signings or maybe some firey comments about a struggling player.  Discussing anything like this with the public is bad management, so it usually doesn’t happen and so what you’re left with tends to be pretty boring.

Surprise surprise, Dubas is generally happy with his team, he hints at reinforcements but qualifies everything he says. Makes sense since Dubas should be happy with his team, and is almost certainly going to trade for some upgrades.

So far in his tenure, Dubas has signed William Nylander to a contract which is going to be among the best and most team friendly contracts in the NHL.  You might not believe it now, because obviously he’s struggled to get on the score sheet this year, but William Nylander is one hell of a hockey player and the investment in him will pay off handsomely.

Dubas has also made some very strong minor moves.  He signed Trevor Moore to a beautiful deal that will allow the Leafs to have an above average player at far below replacement cost.  He signed defenseman Calle Rosen to an extension, which will pay off in the future.

He kept his word and found Josh Leivo a place to play with regular ice time.  He traded for Michael Hutchinson who quite literally saved the Leafs season with his great play during Andersen’s injury.

And he picked Tyler Ennis off the scrap heap, and before breaking his ankle, Ennis was playing great and getting regular ice time.

GM of the Year?

Dubas also signed John Tavares, something he gets no credit for, even though he added a top ten player to his roster for nothing.  Tavares wouldn’t have gone through all those meetings if he had his mind made up before hand, so Kyle deserves more credit for getting it done.

But most of all, Dubas hasn’t done anything stupid.  Which in the NHL that means he’s a way above average GM.  He hasn’t made a big move for the sake of putting his mark on the team, he hasn’t signed any bad deals or made any bad trades.

Of course he hasn’t really made a trade of consequence yet, and he has only been on the job for a short time, so any judgement about his performance would be premature.

But then again, judging the GM of the year in January is super premature anyways, so at least for this exercise we can say Dubas has been amazing.

Overall, I would say I am genuinely impressed so far.  Toronto can be a tough place be under the microscope, and many people have shown that that they succumb to the pressure with rushed moves.  Kyle seems patient, and when he talks, you hear someone who is intelligent, measured and thoughtful.

Add in a John Tavares signing – the biggest and best UFA signing in NHL History – and the locking up of a young star to what is almost certainly going to prove a team-friendly deal in the long-run, and I’d say he is deserving of a lot of credit.

Mid Season Vote

But my fellow hockey writers do not agree.

They have voted for the half-way awards, and Kyle Dubas did not get honored in the top three, which considering he added John Tavares (only the Sharks arguably added anyone close) is so incredibly inaccurate as to constitute a dereliction of duty.

You know who did though? Lou Lamoriello.

Absolutely ridiculous.

I find it incredible that anyone could look at what Lou has done and think he did a good job in any way.  The Islanders success can be attributed almost entirely by the spectacular goaltending of Robin Lehner.

The Islanders don’t have a deep team, and they don’t have a good team.  But they are winning their division, so that was all the research the voters did.

Every year in the NHL there is a team that outperforms its abilities because a goalie goes on an insane run. Every single year.  You’d think that since it’s such a common occurrence that people wouldn’t rush to sanctify the GMs of these teams, but no one ever learns.

The Islanders deserve success. It sucks for their fans that the Leafs stole their best player, so I am cheering for them.  That doesn’t mean their recent run is anything more than a total fluke.

I don’t think it’s much to ask the people who get to vote on NHL awards to go a small bit beyond the wins and loss stats. Naming Lamoriello in the top three is just extremely lazy.

Lou Lamoriello signed with the Islanders and promptly lost his best player.  He has made one trade since he was the GM, and it was Matt Martin for Eamon McAdam.

He signed Robin Lehner, which has proven to be a great move, however no one could have predicted Lehner’s performance.  I don’t think you should get GM of the year because you took a flyer on a goalie who the Sabres no longer wanted. The Sabres!

If the only qualification for GM of the year is who’s bargain UFA outperforms expectations by the biggest margin, then yes, Lou is a good candidate.

But Lamoriello also signed Leo Komarov to a horrible four year deal.  He signed Tomas Hickey for four years, inexplicably.

He switched coaches and signed a goalie.  He made one trade, for an overpaid fourth liner, and he signed two other deals, both of which were long term deals to bottom of the lineup players. And don’t forget, lost his best player.

And, the Islanders are a team whose success is directly attributable to their goalie. Something which is a fact, not an opinion.  Anyone with five minutes can go to naturalstattrick.com and confirm it for themselves.

I understand that he’s the GM of the most surprising team, but I think it’s important for anyone who has earned the privilege of a vote on an award to go beyond just the results.  You have this amazing privilege and you can’t do five minutes worth of work before casting your vote?

The truth is that the Islanders are on a luck generated run that won’t last, and that Lou Lamoriello has actually done a terrible job as the Islanders GM.

Kyle Dubas on the other hand, has done fantastic work so far. I seriously can’t stress enough how badly Lamoriello has done.  He lost his best player – You can’t blame that on him, but it still happened – and three of the four transactions he made involved either a fourth liner or a number six defenseman.

But sure, he’s the third best GM in the NHL.