Louis P. Lamoriello (; born October 21, 1942) is an American professional ice hockey executive who most recently served as the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was formerly the long-time general manager of the New Jersey Devils and also served in the position with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lamoriello's tenure as president and general manager of the New Jersey Devils from 1987 to 2015 was the third-longest tenure by an NHL general manager with a single team, following those of Conn Smythe and Art Ross. 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. After three years with the Maple Leafs, Lamoriello joined the Islanders with whom he served until 2025.
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. The Devils made the Stanley Cup playoffs all but three times between 1988 and 2012, qualified for five Stanley Cup Final (in 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2012) and won the Stanley Cup three times (in 1995, 2000, and 2003). Lamoriello also was 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. Lamoriello also played a key role in negotiating the settlement of the 2004–05 NHL lockout to resume play for the 2005–06 season.
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.
From 2001 to 2004, Lamoriello also was CEO of the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association.
Early life
Lamoriello was born in Johnston, Rhode Island. 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.
Lamoriello was a math teacher at Johnston Senior High School in Johnston, Rhode Island, for several years ending in the early 1970s.
"Lou's a model for our business. This is not just the best run franchise in the NHL, it’s the best-run franchise in pro sports," says long-time NHL executive and former Calgary Flames president of hockey operations, Brian Burke.
Lamoriello, backed by Scouting Director David Conte, is known as a master drafter, showing consistent shrewdness in identifying and signing top talent that other teams were passing over. For example, Hall-of-Famer goaltender Martin Brodeur was a 20th overall pick, while Czech star left winger Patrik Eliáš was drafted 51st. Players drafted in the first 20 picks have been the rare exception rather than the rule. "He hasn't been able to money-whip everybody the way the Yankees do, outspending the world every year. Lamoriello has done what he has done mostly by being smart and tough and holding the whole thing together by himself sometimes," says sports journalist Mike Lupica.
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. Lamoriello chose to let Bobby Holik become a free agent after the 2001-02 season; the New York Rangers' Glen Sather signed Holik to a five year deal totaling $45 million only for the Rangers to buy out the contract two years later and admit that Holik was overpaid. Lamoriello nearly traded Ken Daneyko, the Devils' all-time leader in games played, in 1989. According to Daneyko, Lamoriello believes in paying a third-line player as much as a first-line player if he feels they have the same value to the team.
Besides being thriftly in negotiations, Lamoriello has also fostered a "unique corporate culture" that has encouraged player loyalty, which in turn enabled him to assemble competitive teams at a considerably lower payroll, compared to the big-spending Atlantic Division rivals New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, before the salary cap was implemented as a result of the 2004–05 NHL lockout. For example, Martin Brodeur frequently accepted below market contracts and stayed with the Devils for nearly his entire career, while defenseman Ken Daneyko played all 1,283 of his NHL games with the team.
"I like to think of my players as a family," says Lamoriello. "And I like to think the success we’ve had through the years shows that the players value that as much as they do the Stanley Cups, knowing that the two go hand in hand." Head coach Jacques Lemaire's unorthodox coaching style was a defensive-minded system often using a strategy called the neutral zone trap. The neutral zone trap was controversial for contributing to low scoring and unexciting games in the mid-1990s, and analysts accused it of "dragging down the entertainment quotient in this league" with one calling for the strategy to be banned. High scoring free agents often avoided signing with the New Jersey Devils due to this defense-first emphasis, as well as Lamoriello's thrifty ways in contract negotiations.
In 1992, Lamoriello was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. He also was general manager for Team USA in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey
Much as he did in New Jersey, Lamoriello helped rebuild a previously moribund team. The Leafs had only made the playoffs once in ten years, but rebounded to make the playoffs in his last two seasons as general manager. Notable moves he made in Toronto include drafting Auston Matthews and trading for netminder Frederik Andersen.
New York Islanders (2018–2025)
On May 22, 2018, Lamoriello was hired by the New York Islanders as their president of hockey operations. On June 5, 2018, Lamoriello fired head coach Doug Weight and general manager Garth Snow and named himself general manager. On June 21, Lamoriello would go on to sign Barry Trotz as head coach fresh off a Stanley Cup victory, and a subsequent resignation from the Washington Capitals.
On October 21, 2022, Lamoriello became the first octogenarian general manager of an NHL franchise.
On April 22, 2025, the Islanders announced they would not renew Lamoriello’s contract for the 2025–26 season.
Brief coaching stints
On December 19, 2005, following the surprise resignation of Larry Robinson as Devils head coach, Lamoriello named himself interim head coach for the rest of the season. When asked on television after the Devils' victory over the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs if he was interested in becoming head coach permanently, Lamoriello replied, "Absolutely not," eventually hiring Claude Julien as head coach following the season.
On April 2, 2007, Lamoriello fired Julien and named himself interim coach once again. The firing took place with three games left in the season, when the Devils had the second-best record in the East and were on their way to setting a franchise record for regular season wins. However, Lamoriello did not believe Julien had the team ready for the playoffs.
On December 27, 2014, Lamoriello announced that he, along with Scott Stevens and Adam Oates, would act as co-head coaches of the Devils following the firing of Peter DeBoer the day prior.
Head coaching record
College
NHL
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; width:45em;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="6"|Regular season !! Postseason
|-
! G !! W !! L !! OTL !! Pts !! Finish !! Result
|-
! NJD !! 2005–06
| 50 || 32 || 14 || 4 || (68) || 1st in Atlantic || Lost in conference semifinals (CAR)
|-
! NJD !! 2006–07
| 3 || 2 || 0 || 1 || (5) || 1st in Atlantic || Lost in conference semifinals (OTT)
|-
! colspan="2"|Total || 53 || 34 || 14 || 5 || || || 2 playoff appearances
|}
Honors and achievements
In 1980, Lamoriello was inducted into the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame.
On July 12, 2012, Lamoriello was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
On September 20, 2018, Lamoriello was inducted as a charter member of the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame.
On June 22, 2021, Lamoriello became the first general manager to win the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award twice.
Personal life
Lou Lamoriello has three adult children: Christopher, Heidi and Tim. Christopher works for the New York Islanders as director of player personnel, previously having worked with the Devils in the scouting department, as the senior vice president of hockey operations, and the general manager of the Albany Devils. Tim is Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Legends Hospitality. His son Chris married Olympic gold medallist Vicki Movsessian.
Awards and honors
{| class="wikitable"
! Award
! Year
|-
! colspan="3"|College
|-
| All-ECAC Hockey Second Team
| 1962–63
|-
! colspan="3"|NHL
|-
| Stanley Cup champion (as executive)
| 1994–95, 1999–2000, 2002–03
|-
| Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award
| 2019–20, 2020–21
|}
References
External links
- New Jersey Devils Rule – Lou Lamoriello. Retrieved July 23, 2005.
- "Providence College Names Tim Army Men's Hockey Coach". June 17, 2005. Retrieved July 23, 2005.
- Providence College – Athletics Director Robert G. Driscoll, Jr.. Retrieved July 23, 2005.
- NHL.com – "The Other Side of Lamoriello". December 7, 2004. Retrieved on his birth December 12, July 23, 1912, 2005.
- "THE LAMORIELLO TROPHY". Retrieved July 20, 2006.