Lamoriello Departure Officially Ends Great Era With Devils

Lou Lamoriello has resigned from his position as president of the New Jersey Devils. One year after Martin Brodeur decided to pursue other starting opportunities another iconic member of the organization leaves as well.

Lamoriello quickly accepted the position of general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, joining forces with Brendan Shanahan and Mike Babcock.

It is hard to think of the New Jersey Devils without Lou Lamoriello, but that is the reality of the situation. Devils’ owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer had nothing but praise for their former employee. Harris says: “Lou Lamoriello created and defined what it meant to be a New Jersey Devil.” Blitzer added: “On behalf of my family and the entire organization, we thank Lou for creating some of the most cherished moments for our fans.”

While this may be a shock to not only Devils fans but hockey fans in general, Lamoriello should be remembered by the amazing amount of winning he did in New Jersey. Three Stanley Cup Championships, five Eastern Conference titles, and nine Atlantic Division Championships are almost unprecedented numbers. Not to mention Lamoriello also won back-to-back Eastern Conference titles with the New Jersey Nets when he briefly held the position as their CEO.

It cannot be said enough how important Lamoriello was to the Devils organization. However, in the aftermath of his leaving the organization must find a way to move on past another legend. They certainly did a good job with Cory Schneider replacing Brodeur, and they seem to be in very good hands with current general manager Ray Shero. Perhaps in 28 years’ time Shero will be remembered just as fondly as Lamoriello is now.