New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello was announced as the winner of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award yesterday.
This is the second year in a row in which Lamoriello has received the award. Since taking over the Islanders three years ago, New York has won a playoff series each year, getting to the third round in two of those years.
I do kind of question giving out a General Manager of the Year Award, based on the fact that building a team is done over a period of many years and it can be hard to judge a single season’s performance for a GM. If the award is specifically based on this year though, the only major deals that Lamoriello made were dealing Devon Toews for draft picks in the offseason and adding Kyle Palmieiri and Travis Zajac at the deadline. I’d assume that the value of recently signed contracts aren’t factored into the decision-making process for the award either.
While Lamoriello has been key in the Islanders turning things around, most of his major additions, in Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Semyon Varlamov and Andy Greene, came last season. Don’t get me wrong, Lamoriello has been vital to New York’s recent success and has had more hits than misses as a general manager, but he didn’t actually make a ton of moves this season specifically.
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Do you agree with Lou Lamoriello winning GM of the Year?