Is there a next NHL challenge for Hockey Hall of Famer Lou Lamoriello?
On May 5, the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs will be up and running. Along with the teams still in the hunt for arguably professional sports’ most famous championship trophy, what the future holds for one of the game’s most successful executives is also on the minds of hockey fans.
Dismissed from his duties as president and general manager of the New York Islanders, who didn’t qualify for the postseason with a record of 35–35–12, Lamoriello had been running the Long Island-based team since May 2018.
The Islanders didn’t renew Lamoriello’s contract at the end of the NHL’s regular season last month. Now, at 82, Lamoriello is once again available on hockey’s open market, for all other 31 franchise owners to consider bringing him into their organization.
As Islanders ownership, led by Scott Malkin, Jon Ledecky, and John Collins, is committed to taking their team in a different direction than Lamoriello’s, the Hall of Famer could be on the shortlist with other organizations if he wants to continue.
As organizational builders go in NHL history, the Rhode Island native is at the top of the mountain. Twenty-eight years calling the shots for the New Jersey Devils, Lamoriello drafted, traded, and signed free agents who had his teams skating in Newark, New Jersey, consistently among the Eastern and Western Conferences elites. Shortly after joining the Devils in 1987, postseason dominance became routine.
New Jersey appeared in five Stanley Cup Finals, winning three times (1995, 2000, and 2003), and the Devils teams he brought together experienced 100-plus-point seasons 13 times.
As general managers go, Lamoriello has amassed 1,470 wins, solidifying him in second place all-time in NHL history, only trailing David Poile (1,533).
Jim Dowd, who enjoyed an 18-year NHL career as a center drafted by New Jersey in 1987, knows firsthand of Lamoriello’s effectiveness with his players on and off the ice.
“Lou is one of the best general managers in the history of sports, not just hockey,” Dowd told The Epoch Times on Thursday. “Everywhere he goes, Lou drives the ship. He’s amazing to the people in his organizations outside of the rink. Lou has been there for his people through thick and thin.”
Dowd pointed to Lamoriello’s success in New Jersey, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the past seven seasons on Long Island. He said he feels that if his former boss does want to continue on, be it on a full-time basis or consulting for an NHL team, he will “definitely add value” wherever he goes.
“[Lamoriello] got Toronto moving in the right direction. His Islanders’ teams made the playoffs in five of seven seasons. Lou is in unbelievable shape,” says Dowd, who operates a nutrition performance company in his native New Jersey.
Just as with skaters and goalies who put their services up for grabs when NHL free agency officially begins at noon on July 1, executives could field offers. Any completed deals probably won’t be made publicly until after the Stanley Cup Finals are completed, at the earliest. As a seasoned executive, Lamoriello embraces analytics. He remains attuned to the evolution of the game, and how scouting is approached.
After leaving the Devils to revive a Maple Leafs organization that previously had qualified for the playoffs once in 10 seasons, Toronto fans saw their beloved team skate in the postseason in 2017 and 2018. Respectability was returned to the Maple Leafs organization. Same results on Long Island, courtesy of Lamoriello planning.
The Islanders, who moved into their new home ice—UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, in November 2021, reached the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2020 and 2021 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lamoriello is a proven builder of successful programs, but all good things do come to an end, that is, if Lamoriello is ready for shuffleboard, seaside walks, and sunset watching. But, a bungalow in Florida may not be in the cards just yet. How the NHL president of hockey operations and general managers hiring and firing carousels shake out could determine Lamoriello’s future.
Lamoriello is said to be tough with contract negotiations for skaters and goalies. However, fairness and caring are two other words that his peers use to describe the veteran NHL executive. With qualities like these, surely Lamoriello’s “in between jobs” classification could see a correction in the near future.
