New York Islanders: Is Lou Lamoriello the best GM in the NHL?

Wherever Lou Lamoriello goes, the team finds success. His unwavering vision and dedication to the team make him the best general manager in the league. But is the New York Islanders head honcho the best in the league?

At 77 years of age, it seems like the legendary New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has done it all. He has won three Stanley Cups, recently got inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and his time with the New Jersey Devils made him the third-longest tenured general manager for a single team.

He’s had an illustrious 32-year run where he shows no intention of stopping. A man who has never played, coached, or held a management position in the NHL has become one of the greatest general managers the NHL has ever seen.

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What makes Lamoriello so successful is his ability to find goaltenders, his vision in the draft, and his ability to manage an NHL organization like a machine.

When Lamoriello took over the Devils, his biggest move was drafting goaltender Martin Brodeur 20th overall in the first round. Brodeur backstopped the Devils through all their success and it was Lamoriello who saw the potential when all the other teams passed on him.

After resigning from the Devils and joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, he quickly made a trade with the Anaheim Ducks for goaltender Frederik Andersen and signed a 5-year contract extension. Andersen is the biggest reason for the Leafs’ success and it’s thanks to Lamoriello’s goalie radar.

Now in his second season with the New York Islanders, he has made them a contending team despite what everyone else thought the Islanders would be. The key? The lights-out goalie tandem of Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss. When Lehner went to Chicago, Lamoriello signed Semyon Varlamov and the tandem has picked up right where Lehner left off.

Think of these goalies. Brodeur was passed up, Andersen was getting fazed out in Anaheim in favor of John Gibson, Lehner’s time with the Buffalo Sabres practically sunk his career, and Varlamov is known for his streaky-ness. Lamoriello has turned them all into stars.

Every Stanley Cup contending team has strong goaltending and Lamoriello has made a living off finding the best wherever he goes. Lamoriello is also very good at building a winning team atmosphere. In New Jersey, he had plenty of star players sign discounts because they knew that they were signing on to a well-run organization that threatens for the Stanley Cup every single year.

He signs players that play well but isn’t afraid of signing guys who help out the locker room. Lou understood the value of character players and paid them accordingly. His ability to build a well-rounded team both on the ice and in the locker room is what creates an atmosphere for success.

On top of being a visionary in the draft and with goaltenders, Lamoriello was the first general manager to actively seek out players in the Soviet Union. He recognized their talent and was not afraid to sign them to his North American teams. This outside-the-box thinking was one of the reasons that Gary Bettman inducted him to the Hall-of-Fame as a builder.

While he is 77 years old, Lamoriello’s mind is still sharp and constantly working at making his teams great. His legacy on his teams and the NHL is what makes him the best general manager in the league.