Lou Lamoriello

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Louis "Lou" Lamoriello (born October 21, 1942) is the CEO, president, general manager and current interim head coach of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. Lamoriello, who has been with the Devils since 1987, has served longer than any current GM in the league. During his time at the helm, the Devils have gone from a perennial basement-dweller to one of the best teams in the NHL. He's led them to Stanley Cup championships in 1995, 2000 and 2003, as well as a finals appearance in 2001.

He played a key part in negotiating the settlement of the 2004-05 NHL lockout, which ironically may have done more harm than good to his own team.

Prior to joining the Devils, Lamoriello was the athletic director and men's ice hockey coach at Providence College, his alma mater. He coached Providence's ice hockey team since 1968 and was named athletic director in 1982. During his stint in this position, he hired Rick Pitino as the head coach of the Providence's men's basketball team. Pitino would go on to take Providence to the Final Four in 1987.

He served as the GM for Team USA in the 1998 Winter Olympics. In 1992, he was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

On December 19, 2005, following the surprise resignation of Larry Robinson as Devils head coach, Lamoriello took over the position on an interim basis. The Devils eventually made it the Eastern Conference semi-finals before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes. When asked on television after the Devils' victory over the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs if he was interested in becoming head coach permanently, Lamoriello replied "Absolutely not."

On April 2, 2007, Lamoriello once again took over as interim head coach after firing Claude Julien. The firing took place with three games left in the season, when the Devils had the second-best record in the conference and were on their way to setting a franchise record for regular season wins.[1]

Lou Lamoriello was also a math teacher at Johnston (R.I.) High School for several years ending in the early 1970s.

His presence over the Devils and philosophy are such that some compare him to George Steinbrenner (who once owned part of the team).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

• New Jersey Devils Rule - Lou Lamoriello. Retrieved July 23, 2005.
• "Providence College Names Tim Army Men's Hockey Coach". June 17, 2005. Retrieved July 23, 2005.
• Providence College - Athletics Director Robert G. Driscoll, Jr.. Retrieved July 23, 2005.
• NHL.com - "The Other Side of Lamoriello". December 7, 2004. Retrieved July 23, 2005.
• "THE LAMORIELLO TROPHY". Retrieved July 20, 2006.

Preceded by Larry Robinson	Head Coaches of the New Jersey Devils 2005-2006	Succeeded by Claude Julien
Preceded by Claude Julien	Head Coaches of the New Jersey Devils 2007-Present	Succeeded by Current