3 Most Important Lou Lamoriello Signings as the Toronto Maple Leafs G.M.
Even though Lou Lamoriello hasn’t been the Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager for two years, his moves are still making an impact on the current roster.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Lamoriello to become the 16th G.M. in team history, expectations completely changed.
Although the team was set for a makeover, it felt that it would be an accelerated rebuild with Lamoriello in charge.
As a hockey executive in his 70s, he wasn’t going to sit around for 10 years and slowly remake the Toronto Maple Leafs, but instead do it as quickly and efficiently as possible.
And that’s exactly what he did.
Having previously won three Stanley Cups while making the New Jersey Devils a relevant franchise for almost 30 years, you knew Lamoriello was only moving to Toronto because he felt it was a place he could win.
After having suspect leadership for years, the base was now set with: Lamoriello, Mike Babcock and Brendan Shanahan, while Kyle Dubas lurked in the background.
In terms of a Mount Rushmore of hockey knowledge, it doesn’t get much more powerful than that, as the three of them combine for seven Stanley Cup rings.
Although the Leafs finished in 30th place in Lamoriello’s first year as G.M., that’s exactly what the team wanted.
The Leafs were a revolving door of players using 46 skaters during the 2015-16 season, as they wanted to give every player an opportunity to prove their worth and see who would be apart of the future.
The roster was built with a large percentage of players becoming Free Agents at the end of the season as well, so that they could either easily trade their contract at the NHL Trade Deadline or move on from them in the off-season.
Finishing last in the NHL led to the Leafs drafting Auston Matthews and the rebuild was essentially over in one year. The team made the playoffs that following season and haven’t missed since, with Lamoriello deserving a ton of the credit.
As the Toronto Maple Leafs get ready for their fourth consecutive post-season, here are three signings that Lamoriello did during his tenure that are still so important to the current roster.
#3. Zach Hyman Extension
Contract Details: Four-Year $9 Million Contract ($2.25 million cap hit per season)
When Lamoriello made this deal, Hyman had only played one full NHL season, so he took a chance by giving him a four-year deal.
At the time, it may have felt a little rich and a little long, but that changed quickly.
To compare his salary per season to the rest of the NHL, he makes the exact same per season as former Leaf Matt Hunwick, who is a bottom-pairing defenseman at his best.
That contract is an absolute steal and one of the best in the entire league.
Since signing that contract, Hyman’s career has taken off. After scoring 15 goals in 2017-18, he finished with 21 goals in 2018-19 and was on-pace for 34 goals if he played a full 82-game regular season this year.
A player who scores 20-30 goals each year consistently is worth way more than $2.25 million per season. Also, not to mention that Hyman is one of the best penalty-killers on the Leafs and is the hardest working player on the ice every night.
There’s a real argument that Hyman’s contract should be doubled, at a minimum.
At this rate, Hyman could be on-pace to have similar numbers as someone like James Van Riemsdyk, and he’s making $7 million per season, so the Leafs should be lucky that Lamoriello got the deal done when he did.
Hyman only has one-year left on his current contract, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens next year, but Leaf fans should be very thankful that Lamoriello was able to look into a crystal-ball and lock Hyman up for four years at such a low cost.
#2. Freddie Andersen Deal
Contract Details: Five-Year $25 Million Contract ($5 million cap hit per season)
It had been at least a decade since the Toronto Maple Leafs had a reliable number-one goaltender, but then Lamoriello showed up and changed that narrative.
After watching a year of James Reimer, Jonathan Bernier and Garret Sparks, Lamoriello knew that he needed to address his goaltending and that’s exactly what he did with the acquisition of Andersen.
It cost the Leafs a 2016 first round and 2017 second round pick to acquire him, but that’s the cost of doing business when you can get a perennial number-one goaltender.
The trade to get him was great, but the extension that came with it was the most important part of the deal. Although Leafs fans had yet to see Freddie in a Maple Leafs jersey before the extension was signed, he had enough of a sample size with the Anaheim Ducks to assure that this was a good signing.
The goaltender position is arguably the most important position for any hockey team, so locking him up for years was crucial.
During his time in Toronto, he’s been shaky, but he’s also been magnificent. He finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting after the 2017-18 season as well, so clearly he’s a goaltender you want on your roster.
He’s been left out to dry a number of times by his defense-core in front of him, so even when his stats aren’t good, it’s not always his fault. Overall, I believe the Leafs have faith in Andersen that he can be their goalie during a Stanley Cup-run.
#1. Morgan Rielly Extension
Contract Details: Six-Year $30 Million Contract ($5 million cap hit per season)
Morgan Rielly always seems older than his age, but the 26-year-old is just hitting the prime of his NHL career.
After being drafted fifth overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Rielly made an impact quickly at the NHL-level. Besides this season, Rielly had rarely been injured and was playing almost every night, getting better year-after-year.
Not only was he turning into the Toronto Maple Leafs best defenseman, but was becoming a leader off the ice as well, being named as one of the alternate captains early into his career.
With Rielly set to become a Restricted Free Agent, Lamoriello did an incredible job signing him to a six-year contract worth $5 million per season. In comparison to the rest of the NHL, Rielly is currently the 50th highest paid defenseman.
After having a consistent start to his NHL career, Rielly showed his potential in a break-out 2018-19 season where he finished with 20 goals and 72 points and was fifth in Norris Trophy voting.
Not only is Rielly a fan-favourite, but he’s one of the best skaters in the NHL and his ability to move the puck up the ice makes him so valuable, especially on this current Leafs team that has so much talent.
Rielly is still under contract until 2022, so there’s no doubt that he’ll continue to improve under that deal and continue to look underpaid at $5 million per season.
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Lou Lamoriello did a lot of great things during his time in Toronto, but locking up the team’s best defenseman at a bargain was definitely his best work as Leafs G.M.