That simple phrase should be in the opening paragraph from New Jersey Devils owner James Vanderbeek in a letter to General Manager Lou Lamoriello. It’s put plain and simple, giving him fair warning that he’s on the hot seat.
I, for one, would have absolutely zero qualms with knowing that going into this season, our GM had to either produce a winner or be sent packing.
Some may consider this statement sacrilegious, others would think its about time, and a select few would have no comment at all.
Yes, it does sound a bit drastic to be calling for the job of the only General Manager to bring three Stanley Cups, let alone one, to the franchise and the Garden State. And yes, he did turn a franchise which was once insulted by the Great One, into a perennial contender, but as of late, can they still hold the same title.
Sure, the Devils find ways to get the job done during the regular season, even when mountains upon mountains of adversity are thrown in their path, such as this past season playing with 3rd string Scott Clemmensen for over two-thirds of the regular season while seemingly invincible Martin Brodeur recovered from a biceps tear. The Devils still persevered and managed to not only excel, but make a serious run at the President’s Trophy until late in the year, ironically, when Brodeur returned and the team seemed to sputter.
Many Lou supporters want to turn to the coaches as the blame. Well, I argue, it is rather difficult for a coach to establish a system in a team when they have a shelf-life that’s shorter than milk in the New York City sunlight in August. The Devils have gone through four different coaches in the past 5 years, and thanks to Brent “Benedict Arnold” Sutter’s actions of the past few weeks, we’re in line for a fifth coach in six years. It almost feels as if the only man right for the job, in Lou’s eyes, is himself. And when he has had that opportunity, on two occasions, he has also failed.
Supporters also want to turn on the players, and shoulder them with the blame. I would even be willing to agree that the team quit on themselves and forgot the offensive game plan once Brodeur returned. I personally, however, blame the coach in this instance for a complete and utter lack of discipline and ability to motivate the team. This is also part of the reason I have absolutely no problem with Sutter taking his Mr. Bean personality and shipping up to ride the coattails of older brother Darryl in Calgary.
Others cite a lack of leadership in the locker room. Alright, now for my counterpoint, if you want a leader in the locker-room, who should you turn to? Who is the man in charge of analyzing talent, finding the role players and creating a winner? Oh, of course, why, that’d be the definition of a General Manager’s role in a hockey organization.
Sure, Lou has made some absolutely remarkable deals in the past, including as recent as acquiring Bryce Salvador from the Blues for the human equivalent of a punching bag. But to find another deal which made big impacts, we’d have to go back to 2003 when then-locker room cancer Petr Sykora was the key figure in a deal with the then-Mighty Ducks for Jeff Freisen and Oleg Teverdovsky. That move, paired with the McKay/Arnott for Langenbrunner/Neiuwendyk deal the previous season helped put all of the gears in place for the run to the franchise’s third cup.
But many are quick to forgive all of Lou’s post-lockout blunders by sweeping them under the carpet of 3 Cups. They overlook the Dan Mcgillis, Vladimir Malakhov, Sean Brown and Alexander Mogliny deals by saying “well he still won us 3 cups and we continue to make the playoffs.” They then forget that to get rid of the severely overpaid and completely useless Malakhov, we had to ship him AND a first round draft pick to San Jose so they would eat the cap space and let him rot away.
Oh, and just some further food for thought, when the USA hockey team made its embarrassing appearance in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano where they not only disgraced the nation on the ice by playing horrendously, but also off the ice where some of the players, who played shamefully, suddenly found their aggression and fire in their hotel rooms and proceeded to destroy them accordingly, who was the mastermind behind that team? You got it, Lou Lamoriello. And is it any wonder why they haven’t even invited him back for an interview, yet alone the position?
Well Lou, the draft starts Friday, free agency opens in a week, and you’re all out of lifelines, time to put up, or shut up.
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