Toronto Maple Leafs: Ranking All 32 NHL General Managers
By Jeff Borsuk
The 2nd Best GM – Lou Lamoriello (New York Islanders)
This one stings for Leafs fans but one of the best general managers in the NHL is Lou Lamoriello. He was honoured as such with his second GM of the Year Award in as many seasons. It’s very impressive for a general manager who has only been with the Islanders for three seasons. Lamoriello isn’t new to winning. He was actually the general manager for the Devils when they won Stanley Cups in 1995, 2000 and 2003.
The Good – Lamoriello’s best move in his time with the Islanders was to identify and hire a new coach, Barry Trotz. Fresh off winning a Stanley Cup with the Capitals, Trotz resigned from coaching in Washington and was quickly recruited by Lamoriello. Trotz was paid his worth to join the Islanders and it’s been a successful partnership. The coach has had his players buying into his system, which has proven to result in his squad playing tremendous defense-first hockey.
The Bad – Lamoriello uses his experience to target the players he’s familiar with to improve his teams. That’s why, when he got to Long Island he brought in a pair of Toronto Maple Leafs he worked with while in Toronto. He signed fan favourite Leo Komarov and traded for Matt Martin. Lamoriello even traded for Travis Zajac who he drafted back in 2004 to the Devils. Just because he knows the players doesn’t mean it’s always a good fit.
Cap management is an area where Lamoriello struggles. Too many of his contracts overpay players and even include too much term. This is true about Komarov who was paid $12M to play with the Islanders for four years. Martin was also given a four year term in the deal he signed in New York. The list of Lamoriello’s overpaying contracts is long. Anders Lee was given a seven year deal with an annual cap hit of $7M. Brock Nelson was handed six years with a $6M AAV. Jordan Eberle was signed for five years at a $5.5M cap hit. Semyon Varlamov was paid four years at $5M per season.
Due to those contracts, Lamoriello was forced to make other roster decisions such as trading away Devon Toews. When there isn’t enough cap space, moves like shipping out a valuable defenseman need to happen. That’s why Lamoriello shipped Toews to the Avalanche for a pair of picks.
The Ugly – While it’s difficult to pin this squarely on Lamoriello, the organization lost its franchise player, Tavares, on his watch. While Tavares may have just wanted to play for his hometown and favourite team, he wasn’t impressed enough by the Islanders’ pitch during free agency to remain with the team that drafted him. Despite the success the Islanders have had without their former captain, it is still a big loss.