Lou Lamoriello started his hockey management career way back in 1968, becoming the head coach of the Providence Friars hockey team. Prior to that, he had held management roles for minor-league baseball teams, but he changed course so he could return to his alma mater. He remained there, with increased roles and responsibilities that turned into athletic director and Hockey East commissioner, until 1987. That year, Dr. John McMullen would hire Lamoriello as the New Jersey Devils’ president.
He would remain with the Devils for 28 years. The Devils had new owners, and they hired former Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero to take over team operations. Lamoriello was still on staff, but he left to take over as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He would stay there for three years before taking the President of Hockey Operations job for the New York Islanders.
That was seven years ago, and there were some incredible highs for the New York Islanders. They made the Eastern Conference Finals two years in a row, and his moves, while unconventional, have mostly worked. He shocked everyone when he hired Barry Trotz immediately after he won a Stanley Cup championship with the Capitals. He signed multiple players to massive deals, signing Matthew Barzal, J.G. Pageau, Bo Horvat, and Anthony Duclair to long-term deals.
The Islanders are… fine. This season, they are struggling, but they’ve shown in the past that one run is all it takes to make the playoffs again. Lamoriello’s Islanders only missed the playoffs once in his tenure, but the fanbase has been putting his feet to the fire for years now. The glory of those ECF appearances has worn off, and some are calling for an official rebuild, or at least moves that get the Islanders closer to a Cup instead of in no-man’s land.
Could this be the end for Lou Lamoriello?
We have to look at the facts here. Lamoriello is 82 years old. He’s five years older than life expectancy in the United States. We’re sure if you ask him, he would say that he’s going to live forever, but there’s no way to think he’s not slowing down.
The Islanders just suffered an embarrassing loss to the New York Rangers. The one player that could single-handedly turn things around, goaltender Ilya Sorokin, has been borderline awful this season. There’s no end in sight for the Islanders' pain. Does that spell the end of Lamoriello’s career?
Of course, a legendary career like Lamoriello’s should end on his own terms, but that’s not reality. More often than not, legends are forced out, they aren’t given the grace to leave. To be fair, those same legends aren’t always gracious in their exit, either. They tend to squeeze as much out of their career as they possibly can.
The Devils haven’t officially honored Lou Lamoriello yet. That’s probably by his own request since he’s playing for a rival team. However, the second Lamoriello moves away from hockey management, he will be fast-tracked into the Devils’ Ring of Honor. There is no more deserving member, putting together one of the greatest management careers in hockey history. However it ends, it doesn’t change the fact that Lamoriello is still one of the greatest men to control a hockey team in history.