Lou Lamoriello

Louis A. Lamoriello (born October 21, 1942) is an American professional ice hockey executive who is the president of hockey operations and general manager for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was formerly general manager of both the New Jersey Devils and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) for the Harwich Mariners (1961–62), Orleans Cardinals (1963), and in 1964 as the player-manager of the Bourne Canalmen.

After attending La Salle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, Lamoriello graduated from Providence College in 1963.

He received varsity letters in baseball and hockey and served each team as captain during his senior year.

A star player, he remained in the league after his playing days, capturing the league championship in 1965 as field manager of the Sagamore Clouters, and in 1967 managing the Yarmouth Indians.

Lamoriello became head coach of the Providence College Friars men's ice hockey team in 1968 and became athletic director in July 1982.

Lamoriello was a math teacher at Johnston Senior High School in Johnston, Rhode Island, for several years ending in the early 1970s.

In his first season as general manager, the Devils notched their first winning season in franchise history (dating back to their time as the Kansas City Scouts [1974–76] and Colorado Rockies [1976–82]) and reached the Wales Conference Finals.

During the 1982–83 season, the Friars were 33–10–0, the best record in the nation that year, and appeared in the Frozen Four for the first time since 1964.

Lamoriello resigned as head coach in 1983.

In July 1983, Lamoriello joined his fellow athletic directors at Boston College, Boston University, the University of New Hampshire and Northeastern University in forming the Hockey East Association.

He helped produce an interlocking schedule agreement with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and negotiate the first television package in college ice hockey.

Lamoriello was the first commissioner of Hockey East.

Lamoriello's tenure as general manager of the New Jersey Devils from 1987 to 2015 was the third-longest by an NHL general manager with a single team, following those of Conn Smythe and Art Ross.

As athletic director, he hired Rick Pitino as the head coach of the men's basketball team; Pitino would go on to take Providence to the Final Four in 1987.

On April 30, 1987, Lamoriello resigned as Hockey East commissioner and as athletic director at Providence to become president of the NHL's New Jersey Devils.

In April 1987, Devils then-owner John McMullen appointed Lamoriello team president.

Lamoriello named himself general manager just before the start of the 1987–88 season, a move that surprised many NHL observers.

He had never played, coached or managed in the NHL, and was virtually unknown outside the American college hockey community.

Over the next 28 years, Lamoriello presided over one of the most successful rebuilding projects in North American professional sports history.

The Devils made the Stanley Cup playoffs all but three times between 1988 and 2012, qualified for five Stanley Cup Finals (in 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2012) and won the Stanley Cup three times (in 1995, 2000, and 2003).

The conference's executive committee voted on March 7, 1988, to name the conference championship trophy in his honor, as the Lamoriello Trophy.

In 1992, Lamoriello was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

The Devils made the playoffs in all but five of his 27 seasons as general manager, and appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1995 (won), 2000 (won), 2001 (lost), 2003 (won) and 2012 (lost).

Lamoriello also served as general manager for Team USA in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, in which the U.S. won the championship, as well as for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

He also served as general manager for Team USA in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey (in which the U.S. won the championship) and the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Lamoriello is well known in NHL circles for his hard-nosed approach to contract negotiations.

Pat Verbeek, Kirk Muller and Bill Guerin, among others, have been traded out of town after losing contract negotiations.

A permanent trophy was commissioned and was presented at the 1999 championship.

After YankeeNets bought the Devils in 2000, Lamoriello was named chairman and CEO of the Devils, as well as vice-chairman and CEO of the then co-owned New Jersey Nets.

From 2001 to 2004, Lamoriello also served as CEO of the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association.

Lamoriello was born in Johnston, Rhode Island.

Lamoriello also played a key role in negotiating the settlement of the 2004–05 NHL lockout to resume play for the 2005–06 season.

He dropped the chairmanship of the Devils and resigned his posts on the Nets after Jeffrey Vanderbeek bought the Devils from YankeeNets in 2004.

For the most part, McMullen, Vanderbeek and most recent owner Josh Harris left the Devils' operations in Lamoriello's hands.

In 2009, Lamoriello was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders category, while in 2012, Lamoriello was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

In 2009, Lamoriello was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame.

Lamoriello resigned from New Jersey on May 4, 2015, and became the 16th general manager of the Maple Leafs on July 23 of the same year.

Under Lamoriello's management, the Devils, who had been barely competitive for their first five years in New Jersey, became one of the most successful teams in the NHL.