When do we question Lou Lamoriello's legacy as a general manager?

[Beukeboom Fan]

I didn't say they were flukes, just don't think they move the needle for his legacy. They did well those two playoffs but those weren't cup caliber rosters, which is why Tampa ultimately won both years. And 2021 was 4 seasons ago, his moves have gotten worse every year since then.

Agree that a couple of trips to the ECF don't move the needle in comparison to winning 3 Cups with the Devils. To me though - winning 2 rounds in the P/O's and taking the team that ended up winning it all to game 7 and losing 1-0 is a cup caliber roster, and are solid results considering how bad the Islanders were prior to LL's arrival. IMO - similar to last year where the Oilers were a Cup caliber roster. IMO, it is important to note that they went to the ECF in back to back years - this wasn't like the Habs who caught lightning in a bottle and got smoked when the bubble burst.

Fair point with the last 4 years. That's somewhat due to the lifecycle of his team, and LL has made some solid draft/trades (Dobson & Horvat come to mind) to bolster the roster even if they come up short.

 

[ElLeetch]

I always have. He had a top-3 all time goalie on his team, and he manufactured a career out of it.

He took a "Mickey Mouse franchise" and made them the best team of the dead puck era. That makes him a hall of famer.

But yea it's time to retire, he's handed out so many bad contracts lately and isles are in no man's land.

Brodeur did that. not Lou.

 

[SladeWilson23]

I feel as if Lou Lamoriello is held up by his pedigree from the early 2000's at this point rather than what he's done lately. For a "hockey hall of famer", I feel like he's caused more damage for his teams than help. Do you agree?

He took over a cellar dwelling franchise in the late 80's and made the playoffs almost immediately. His team only missed the playoffs 3 times in a 25year span.

He tore down the iron curtain by bringing Fetisov and Kasatonov into the US.

 

[SladeWilson23]

Niedermayer missed the next three games but was back for Game 2 of the ECF.

Plus Colorado was without Forsberg in the SCF. Us losing McKay hurt us more than people might think. The PP was shit without him.

I always have. He had a top-3 all time goalie on his team, and he manufactured a career out of it.

Brodeur did that. not Lou.

He tore down the iron curtain and brought Fetisov to the US. He is the one who traded down to draft Brodeur. He took the team to the playoffs prior to Brodeur even being a thought. The dude took a cellar dwelling franchise and made them a perennial playoff team.

 

[Brodeur]

Plus Colorado was without Forsberg in the SCF. Us losing McKay hurt us more than people might think. The PP was shit without him.

In a weird way I would totally trade the 2003 Cup for the 2001 Cup. It always amuses me that McKay/Mogilny tied for team lead in PP goals that season while playing the 2nd unit.

 

[Romang67]

I always have. He had a top-3 all time goalie on his team, and he manufactured a career out of it.



Brodeur did that. not Lou.

Who was the GM for the 1990s Buffalo Sabres?

 

[SladeWilson23]

In a weird way I would totally trade the 2003 Cup for the 2001 Cup. It always amuses me that McKay/Mogilny tied for team lead in PP goals that season while playing the 2nd unit.

Agreed. 2001 would have been so sweet in retrospect because it would have meant Marty beating Roy. It would have also meant we won 2 in a row.

2003 was still great, but that team was easily the worst of the 3 Cups. That team was all Brodeur and Niedermayer. Jeff Friesen and Jamie Langenbrunner were our best forwards that playoff year which should be telling on how underwhelming that team was.

Who was the GM for the 1990s Buffalo Sabres?

John Muckler and Darcy Regier

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

I always have. He had a top-3 all time goalie on his team, and he manufactured a career out of it.



Brodeur did that. not Lou.

If your evaluation is true - no GM deserves credit for anything, because it was the star players on the ice that deserve 100% of the credit. Never mind the fact that Lou accurately identified Brodeur and even traded back to still get him.

I get the rivalry can skew your perspective - but when you post crap like this you have no credibility.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Couple of questions about those 3 moves.

Didn't he draft down in the 1990 1st round, giving up picks 11 and 32 for picks 20, 24 and 29? Was the point of that trade really to get Brodeur at 20, or was he simply getting another 2nd and got lucky?

And he traded Tom Kurvers at the beginning of the 89-90 season for a 1991 1st, which is what ended up being Neidermeyer. Was the point of the trade to get the 3rd OA pick in 1991, or did he again, get kind of lucky with that?

And he got Stevens because the Blues wanted to sign Shanahan to a big RFA contract, which meant NJ needed to be compensated, which ended up going to an arbitrator, who ultimately awarded them Stevens (instead of St Louis's offer of CuJo, Rob Brind'Amour, and 2 conditional picks). One more time, was the intention of not paying Shanahan more to get Stevens, or did he just kind of get lucky with that?

You could keep this exercise going with bringing Toronto and NYI back to respectability. As far as I can tell his most impactful positive moves between the two clubs were
1) hiring Trotz
2) 1st+ for Andersen
3) telling guys to shave/maybe Horvat

He gets a wild amount of credit for re-signing non-star RFAs who were in the system before him to market value deals.

 

[crab]

Lou has been awful for years. The only people that weren’t aware were some Islanders fanboys.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

You remember Tony Montana in Scarface...that's the only way you'll get rid of him while he's at the top.

 

[ElLeetch]

If your evaluation is true - no GM deserves credit for anything, because it was the star players on the ice that deserve 100% of the credit. Never mind the fact that Lou accurately identified Brodeur and even traded back to still get him.

I get the rivalry can skew your perspective - but when you post crap like this you have no credibility.

"Hey, this guy is going to be an HOFer. let me gamble and trade back and hope he is still there".

Yeah, that logic works.

 

[BrockLobster]

He made the isles respectable the year after tavares. 2 great runs that would have been cups if not for the damn lightning. His legacy is fine.

That being said its time for a change. And stat

 

[Spawn]

I think hockey catches up and passes everyone eventually. Whether you’re a player, a coach or a manager.

I don’t think that hurts their legacy as all time greats.

 

[StreetHawk]

He made the isles respectable the year after tavares. 2 great runs that would have been cups if not for the damn lightning. His legacy is fine.

That being said its time for a change. And stat

2021 Isles were close. Game 7 scoreless into the 3rd. Teams can rebuild for 7-8 years and then never make 2 final 4's with the guys they drafted in that rebuild.

 

[Oneiro]

I don't think fans, especially younger ones, really appreciate what it means to have all 22 guys playing the same way, what it's like to see guys who were on their way out of the league - from Arnott all the way to Steve Bernier- transform themselves into all-in, all around players. To constantly find undrafted gems both in North America and abroad. To just completely dominate the Eastern conference for over a decade. After Detroit, NJ is the model organization from that period of time.

The only flaw in Lou's approach is that you must have the horses to support the rest of the philosophy or else it means nothing. When Stevens and Niedermayer were gone, he didn't replace them, and he disregarded the draft for too long. Say he signs Chara instead of Boston, drafts a little bit better and then keeps and adds to Parise, Henrique, etc., you're probably looking at 1-2 more cups from that franchise. He really did not need much to go far, he just never weighed elite players appropriately until they were completely legends.

The Isles were an absolute joke before him, looked at that the way we view the Sabres and the Senators now. Their current problem is the same as NJ in 2013. It's over but it's not in his DNA to acknowledge that.

 

[Devils731]

Lou has been arguably one of the worst GMs to have on a team needing a rebuild in the cap era, he wants to squeeze every win out of his teams. This is the wrong situation for him to be the manager of.

That doesn’t detract from the stellar job done earlier in his career. He made many astute moves over a long period of time and generally pushed the right buttons for teams that had a chance to be winners.

 

[SeanAveryTheGreatOne]

Show some respekt. He kept the Islanders relevant after Tavares skipped on them and even made a few conference finals with no top 5 picks.

The Sabres would kill for that.

That was Trotz's genius, not Lou's

 

[archangel2]

He should have retired 10 years ago