3 Worst Lou Lamoriello Signings as Toronto Maple Leafs G.M.
#1. Patrick Marleau Signing
Contract Details: Three Years, $18.75 million ($6.25 million per season)
Patrick Marleau is a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame player, having played over 1,700 games, while scoring 562 goals.
Having played his entire career with the San Jose Sharks, it was a shock to see him sign in Toronto, but he only did it to get another crack at winning a Stanley Cup.
If this signing was a one-year deal, it can’t be criticized. However, the fact that it was three years makes it terrible.
When Lamoriello signed Marleau, he knew that he would be 40-years-old when the contract finished. Although his legs looked good in his first season, father-time is always going to catch up to you and that’s exactly what happened with Marleau.
Signing any player over 35-years-old to anything but a one-year contract is ludicrous. As a G.M., you have to understand that your bet is getting incredibly riskier for every year you add onto a player of that ages contract.
Just because Marleau scored 30-plus and sometimes 40-plus goals in the NHL consistently, that’s all in the past and you have to sign someone for what they will become, not what they used to be.
As mentioned, Marleau’s first season was great as he scored 27 goals in the regular season and then contributed with four goals in seven games in the playoffs.
However, the year after he only had 16 goals and didn’t score once in the playoffs.
You could clearly tell that he wasn’t himself after last year and the team had to move on from him to clear cap-space to sign their younger core.
The Marleau experiment was over and it cost them a first-round pick to trade him.
Next. 3 Most Important Moves by Lamoriello as Leafs G.M.. dark
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs turned their franchise around with Lamoriello in charge, you can see he made a few mistakes along the way.