NHL
Lou Lamoriello had run NHL teams since 1987 before being let go by the Islanders in April. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
There isn’t a trace of bitterness or regret in Lou Lamoriello’s voice.
In his first interview addressing being let go as general manager of the New York Islanders in April, the Hockey Hall of Famer sounded at peace Monday as he put in perspective where he is now and a remarkable hockey life lived.
And just to be clear, he’s not fully retired, still working as an adviser to Islanders owner Scott Malkin.
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But for a man who has run a team ever since taking over the New Jersey Devils in 1987 — and also was busy every fall after becoming head coach of the Providence College hockey team in the late ’60s — this is indeed a new feeling.
And it’s absolutely fine.
“It’s totally different and unique,” Lamoriello, 83, told The Athletic on Monday morning. “There are more nights you sleep much better.”
He said that with a laugh but was quick to add that his daily regimen hasn’t changed as far as getting up early every day and getting on with his day, which still includes calls and meetings.
The difference is he’s not running a hockey team and not traveling with one, either.
“I was a believer in being with the team,” Lamoriello said. “My day is totally different. It’s controlled by me. I’m not involved with the hockey side, which is the right thing.”
He’s had a few chats with new Isles GM Mathieu Darche, especially helping during the transition.
“I had a couple of lunches with him during training camp,” Lamoriello said. “We communicate. I am a fan of Mathieu, I like him.”
As far as the day-to-day, Lamoriello still watches as much hockey as ever.
“I’m just enjoying the blossoming of some of these young players that are coming into the league or have been in the league a year or two,” he said. “But the days of being in day-to-day for the hockey team, I’m retired from that part of the game, I believe it’s time.”
Again, he sounded very content as he said this.
Lamoriello attended the NHL Board of Governors meeting on Oct. 15 in New York City and plans to do the same for the main Board of Governors meeting in Colorado Springs next month. That’s part of his gig as consultant to Malkin — a role that extends past this season as per his contract.
The reality is that Lamoriello planned to make this kind of transition a decade ago when still in New Jersey. When the late Ray Shero became Devils GM in May 2015, Lamoriello stayed on as team president. The plan was eventually for him to become a consultant to ownership over time.
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But Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan offered Lamoriello the Leafs GM job, which he couldn’t resist, given how special an opportunity that was.
In Toronto, Lamoriello planned to be GM for three years, which actually did happen. And he remains close with now-Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas, who replaced him as GM in Toronto in 2018.
The idea at the time was that Lamoriello would stay on as a consultant with the Leafs, the same as in New Jersey. But yet again, another team came calling. The Islanders hired Lamoriello as GM in June 2018. The original deal was that he would be GM for four years and then consult for a few years after that. He ended up being Isles GM seven years before the change was finally made after last season.
It’s a long way of saying that Lamoriello has now transitioned into the consultant role he had first envisioned for himself a decade ago in New Jersey.
“I never thought I’d leave New Jersey,” Lamoriello said. “Even today, I never thought I’d be anywhere but New Jersey. Similar to my days at Providence. They had opportunities there. I never thought I’d leave there.”
He’s made a point of having his own office separate and at a different location than the Islanders’ team headquarters.
“I know what the job is to be a general manager and to run a club — the independence you need,” said Lamoriello, whose 1,470 regular-season wins as NHL GM are second only to David Poile’s 1,533. “You don’t need anyone looking over your shoulder. That will never happen. I support Mathieu, and if he wants to talk, I’m there. I like what he’s doing. And I’m enjoying the other part of the game now.”
What a ride it’s been in hockey for him over the past six decades. Three Stanley Cup championships. GM of the U.S. team that famously won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
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“The game has been great to me,” Lamoriello said. “I never thought of it as it being a day at work.”
Lamoriello said the relationships he forged with people in the game are what he values most. He said it’s been “humbling” how many of those people have reached out to him since last season to check up on him.
“Thank God I’m in good health,’’ said Lamoriello, who enjoys the occasional glass of Italian Brunello red wine. But just one.
The reality has set in. His GM days are over. About 10 years after he thought they would be.
“There’s no looking back. I’ve been very fortunate,” Lamoriello said. “I’m blessed with a great family, three great adult kids, seven grandkids. That’s something special. You’ve got to feel good. How can you not feel good? Why wouldn’t you?
“It’s all positive.”
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Pierre LeBrun has been a senior NHL columnist for The Athletic since 2017. He has been an NHL Insider for TSN since 2011 following six years as a panelist on Hockey Night In Canada. He also appears regularly on RDS in Montreal. Pierre previously covered the NHL for ESPN.com and The Canadian Press. Follow Pierre on Twitter @PierreVLeBrun
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