The Fifth Liners

Brendan Shanahan's rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs took another turn today as it was announced that Lou Lamoriello has been hired as new team GM. Having held the same post at the New Jersey Devils since 1987, Lamoriello is certainly experienced. Under his reign, the Devils took home three Stanley Cups from 1995 to 2003. However, will his lack of progress since then hinder Toronto's chances? The first thought we have to contend with is that is Lamoriello jumping from one sinking ship to another which has already sunk? His 28 years in New Jersey brought about some great results, he was the first GM in the NHL to bring across Soviet players into North America. Also he brought about 21 play-off appearances and nine division titles, for his efforts Lamoriello was inducted to the NHL Hall of Fame in 2012. Asides from the roll of honor, there are some minor facts to be considered, such as the fact that from 2010 onwards, New Jersey has only made one trip to the play-offs. Alt...

One of the biggest talking points north of the border recently has been the Nazim Kadri situation, the two parties have been discussing a deal for a while now and finally something has been agreed. Kadri will remain a Leaf for the next two years and pocket a reported 5.8 million. Why has it taken so long to get to this point? Toronto Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis has been open about the situation, Kadri's camp were looking for a long term big money contract, while the Leafs were looking at more of a bridging contract. Kadri told reporters that the "deal is fair for both sides" but based on the original five or six years previously mentioned, this seems like a big concession on Kadri's part. This is understandable though. Kadri is a good player, but he's not yet proven himself to be worthy of big money. In 99 games, he's scored 26 goals. Last season he didn't make the top 20 goal scorers. Watching Kadri play, he clearly has talent, but it makes sense f...