Lou Lamoriello Named NHL's General Manager of the Year
Jun 22, 2021
The National Hockey League announced Tuesday that New York Islanders General Manager Lou Lamoriello has been named the winner of the 2021 Jim Gregory Award, presented to recognize the work of the top General Manager of the Year. He is the father of Bridgeport Islanders General Manager, Chris Lamoriello.
Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin and Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito were the other two finalists for the award.
Lamoriello, the winner of the 2020 Jim Gregory Award, is the first two-time recipient of this award. He is in his third season as Islanders President and General Manager and has a combined regular season record over the course of the three years of 115-67-24. The Islanders have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in all three seasons Lamoriello has been with the Islanders and have advanced to the Semifinal Round in two straight seasons for the first time since 1979-1984. With the Islanders second round Stanley Cup Playoffs series victory over the Boston Bruins, Lamoriello now has 31 postseason series wins, placing him second in league history behind Glen Sather (41 series wins).
He is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion (1995, 2000 and 2003) as General Manager of the New Jersey Devils and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee (2009).
Lamoriello joined the Devils as President and General Manager in 1987. Throughout his tenure in New Jersey, the Devils went to the Stanley Cup Playoffs 21 times, posted 13, 100-point seasons, won nine division titles and went to the Stanley Cup Final five times. New Jersey also earned 13 consecutive post-season berths from 1997-2010. In 1995, New Jersey's American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany Devils, won the Calder Cup, marking the third time an NHL organization and their AHL franchise won both championships in the same season.
Lamoriello has compiled a lifetime regular-season record of 1,326-921-179-166 (2,592 GP) (W-LT-OT) and a lifetime Stanley Cup Playoffs record of 166-142 (308 GP). He earned his 1,320th regular season win as an NHL general manager on April 8, 2021, passing Glen Sather for second on the League’s all-time list (David Poile - Nashville 1,428). Lamoriello served as the Devils' Head Coach for 50 regular season games in 2005-06 (32-14-4) and the final three regular season games in 2006-07. The Devils qualified for the playoffs and reached the Eastern Conference Final in both seasons.
In addition to his responsibilities with the Devils, Lamoriello was named vice chairman and CEO of the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets after the hockey team was purchased by YankeeNets. Following back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, Lamoriello relinquished his posts with the Nets when YankeeNets sold the basketball franchise to an independent owner in 2004.
Internationally, Lamoriello served as the General Manager for Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey in 1996. Team USA won the inaugural tournament championship, defeating Team Canada in a best-of-three final. He also served as General Manager for Team USA at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The Johnston, RI native was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012 and received the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1992 in recognition of his service to hockey in the United States.