Hockey Hall of Famer and three-time Stanley Cup winner Lou Lamoriello shocked the NHL on Thursday morning by resigning as president of the New Jersey Devils and accepting a position as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Lamoriello’s 28-year run as Devils president ends less than three months after he had stepped down as New Jersey’s GM, giving way to the hiring of Ray Shero. He is being hired by Toronto president Brendan Shanahan, who was drafted second overall in 1987 to play for New Jersey (1987-1991) and who returned to the Devils briefly at the end of his playing career (2008-09).
Thursday’s sudden and unique switch was made public after the Devils tweeted at 10:10 a.m. ET that Lamoriello had resigned as president:
And the Leafs followed with a tweet two minutes later that they were naming him the 16th GM in Toronto’s franchise history.
BREAKING NEWS: Lou Lamoriello resigns as President of the #NJDevils. http://t.co/8LwWMLqgli pic.twitter.com/LhsTTcvovz
— New Jersey Devils (@NHLDevils) July 23, 2015
And the Leafs followed with a tweet two minutes later that they were naming him the 16th GM in Toronto’s franchise history.
The #Leafs have named Lou Lamoriello the 16th General Manager in Club history #TMLtalk
READ → http://t.co/gabNyzLRwI pic.twitter.com/huVOhgEYJl
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 23, 2015
The 72-year-old Lamoriello joined the Devils as president and GM in 1987 and led New Jersey to 21 playoff appearances, nine division titles, five Cup Final appearances, and three Stanley Cup championships (1995, 2000, 2003).
The Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and recently have become a laughingstock, finishing 15th in the 16-team Eastern Conference last season.
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