There are a lot of great general managers in the New York area. Mike Tannebaum has built the Jets into perennial contenders. Brian Cashman helped to forge a dynasty in the Bronx. Jerry Reese just won his second Super Bowl. All of these men deserve plenty of credit, but none of them holds the distinction of being the best GM in the area. That distinction goes to the Lou Lamoriello the GM of the Devils.
Tannebaum has rebuilt the Jets, but they still have a ways to go. Reese has the two Super Bowls, but the first one was probably more thanks to Ernie Accorsi’s moves than his and ultimately Accorsi was the one who drafted Eli Manning. Cashman has certainly had his moments, but it is tough to credit him with the Yankee dynasty because he really only took over the GM role on a full-time basis in 2005.
Since Lamoriello took over the Devils in 1987, they have only missed the playoffs three times. They have been to five Stanley Cup Finals, including the current one (where they need a furious comeback to win the Cup) and they have won three of them. Their extended run of excellence has highlighted Lamoriello’s genius at building a team. From selecting Martin Brodeur with the 20th pick of the 1990 draft to finding Brian Gionta in the third round he has used the draft wisely. He demanded that the Blues surrender Scott Stevens as compensation for signing Brendan Shanahan and he engineered the trade that brought the Devils Ilya Kovalchuk.
Other than the Yankees, the Devils are the most successful franchise in the area over the past 20 years. They haven’t earned enough attention for their accomplishments and neither has their GM.
