A winner of three Stanley Cups during his tenure in New Jersey, his time with the Devils came at a crossroads when Ray Shero was appointed new GM on May 4, 2015. Lamoriello remained as team president.
It was at that point Leafs president Brendan Shanahan began pursuing the man who drafted him. But it took another ten weeks before Lamoriello agreed to join Toronto.
“There was a period there during free agency where we weren’t speaking,” said Shanahan. “In the last week or so and the last few days, talks just picked up and seemed to happen rather quickly.