Lou Lamoriello named Leafs General Manager

[Capn_Crunch]

I just read somewhere that Lou says he has full autonomy.

Also said this:

[tweet]624292611981975552[/tweet]

So he has autonomy but he also has a boss above of him. That's basically the same situation Nonis was in. It won't change the fact that Lou has to follow his boss' vision or he'll be out of a job.

Exactly. I highly doubt that Shanny spent the past year tearing down and rebuilding things to fit into his Shanaplan only to hire his mentor to come in and undo it.
I think it is more along the lines (and his comments in the presser about shanny being a bulldog when it comes to getting what he wants) that Lou sat down and let Shanny paint his picture for him and he nodded his head in total agreement and said hell do you have an extra brush and a bottle of scotch? Lets get to work. 

 

[LuncheonMeat]

I just read somewhere that Lou says he has full autonomy.

Also said this:

[tweet]624292611981975552[/tweet]

So he has autonomy but he also has a boss above of him. That's basically the same situation Nonis was in. It won't change the fact that Lou has to follow his boss' vision or he'll be out of a job.

I think it also puts other teams on notice publicly, if you want to deal you deal with me.

 

[Tigger]

At first blush, I like this, Lou's experience and personality should have a solid positive impact on the team overall, from player accountability to management learning curves.

 

[ZBBM]

The bolded above is the answer to CTB's question in the next post.  He's alpha -- he doesn't want to fade away.  Of course he's going to tell Shanahan & Co. that he can be a team player -- he wants to be a GM, not a figurehead.  Just color me very skeptical that this particular leopard will be able to change his spots.

Let's assume you're right then. He's still going to be an alpha without the powers of an alpha. He's not in a position where he can say "screw this rebuild I want to trade Rielly for Eric Staal" or anything like that. He's in a position where he's going to be forced into working within a team. If he proves that he can't or won't shed the alpha mentality then there's a pretty simple ending to this story and that's him and the team "mutually" agreeing to part ways.

Which I wouldn't be surprised to see before the end of the contract.

 

[pmrules]

LL:  "Defense wins championships.  Offense wins games."

That's awesome.

 

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

As the Sith Lord that Lou is, I fully expect him to oust everyone, be President, GM, and coach by Christmas. 

 

[LuncheonMeat]

As the Sith Lord that Lou is, I fully expect him to oust everyone, be President, GM, and coach by Christmas.

Maybe he can be that first line center we've needed for so long.

 

[Captain Canuck]

One good thing about Lou is that he won't stand for guys who don't backcheck and play a strong two-way game. Anyone who wants to dog it on D should be shipped out pronto!

 

[Bullfrog]

LL:  "Defense wins championships.  Offense wins games."

That's awesome.

and also contradictory.

 

[moon111]

So if Babcock doesn't want a player playing, he still has control over the roster?

 

[Zee]

I watched the press conference, man it's weird seeing Lamoriello with a Leafs pin on his jacket.  That guy was with the Devils when I was still in high school.

 

[Kin]

I think this ultimately makes sense. You weren't going to go out and get one of the bright young AGM prospects in the league and bring him into a situation where the majority of the structure of the organization was already decided. So you bring in someone who knows the ins and outs of running a franchise and has experience and contacts around the league but who will probably not be around long-term.

And I think some of the "The Devils haven't been very good recently" stuff is unfair. That was a team in a messy situation for a lot of years, a team the NHL almost had to take over, fighting a lot of uphill battles.

 

[93forever]

How long will Phaneuf be the captain let alone still on the team?

 

[princedpw]

I just saw the title of this thread.  Is there an April fool's day in July?

 

[pmrules]

LL:  "Defense wins championships.  Offense wins games."

That's awesome.

and also contradictory.

Take it up with the guy with 3 Stanley cups...

 

[CarltonTheBear]

And I think some of the "The Devils haven't been very good recently" stuff is unfair. That was a team in a messy situation for a lot of years, a team the NHL almost had to take over, fighting a lot of uphill battles.

Lou's made some misfires lately, there's no denying that. But people seem to be forgetting that the Devils were in the Stanley Cup finals in 2012, that's not that long ago. If Kovalchuk doesn't bolt to Russia they'd probably have been in the playoffs in each of the past 3 seasons.

edit: Heck, if Kovalchuk doesn't bolt to Russia we aren't even hiring Lou. He really set that franchise back. They've had a pretty solid group there that's just been missing that one elite forward.

 

[Highlander]

I think he looks more like Yoda or a very old tortuous

 

[Bullfrog]

LL:  "Defense wins championships.  Offense wins games."

That's awesome.

and also contradictory.

Take it up with the guy with 3 Stanley cups...

I'm just suggesting it's a meaningless cliche. You can't win championships without winning games. In fact, that's the only way you can win a championship.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

I think he looks more like Yoda or a very old tortuous

Uh, tortoise...?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Steve Simmons with a pretty good breakdown of how the deal came together:

The deal for the new general manager of the Maple Leafs is three years in length, more than $9 million in salary, and all it will cost the club to sign one of hockey?s iconic figures is a third-round draft pick down the road, the most compensation ever awarded for a 72-year-old hockey executive.

The chase began the way so many hockey negotiations begin, with Brendan Shanahan making a telephone call to Josh Harris, co-owner of the New Jersey Devils. A couple of days earlier, Ray Shero had been named GM of the Devils. Lamoriello kicked himself upstairs, or so the story went.

Shanahan wondered: Would his old mentor have any interest in working for him in Toronto?

He called the Devils and requested permission to talk to Lamoriello about the Leafs? GM opening.

Harris wasn?t exactly welcoming.

?Let me call you back,? he said.

One day later, still surprised by the Leafs? request, Harris reluctantly agreed.

?Look, we don?t want to lose Lou,? Harris said in his call back. ?And I?m not sure how he?s going to respond to you. But go ahead, you can call him and talk to him.?

...

May became June and, suddenly, Shanahan?s emphasis became hockey only. There was the draft to finalize preparations for. There was the upcoming free agency. There was the trading he hoped to accomplish. There wasn?t time to be all over a GM search.

?We had sort of stopped communicating around the draft and free agency,? Shanahan said of Lamoriello. ?I never thought it was dead, but there were times when I thought it was less likely to happen. I really believed it was a good fit for him, a good fit for us. What I didn?t know is what he was thinking.?

?I don?t know how many of you know Brendan, but if I want anybody recruited anywhere, I?m sending Brendan (to do it),? Lamoriello explained.

...

Then, early Wednesday evening, the phone rang. Lamoriello called Shanahan.

?Are you still interested?? asked Lamoriello.

Shanahan wanted to scream into the phone, but didn?t.

?Okay,? Shanahan said. ?Let?s do this.?

The negotiations didn?t take long. And in little more than a year on the job, Shanahan has signed up a Hall of Fame general manager and a coach who will be heading there one day.

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/07/23/anatomy-of-the-leafs-deal-with-lou-lamoriello