Maple Leafs GM LOU LAMORIELLO said his last five years as Devils GM were "nothing but a roller coaster," according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com. Lamriello: "I take full responsibility, but there are a lot of things that were not on the surface that you did for the better of the organization. ... It wasn't at times as enjoyable, even during the Stanley Cup run (in 2012, when New Jersey lost in the finals), I'm reporting to the National Hockey League that whole year (because of the financial difficulties from former Devils owners)." He added, "The present ownership of the Devils was great to me. I was a lifetime Devil, I didn't have to leave the position I was in. They wanted me to stay as long as I wanted and made it very comfortable. But [Maple Leafs President BRENDAN SHANAHAN] got to me ... and I thought, Why not?" Lamoriello continued, "I thought that this would be something that I would enjoy, because I love the game. And the challenge of having success, that's what you do, you compete against yourself. Toronto, what better place? What better hockey mecca? I've always been of the opinion -- and I have to be careful how this comes out -- but I always thought Toronto should be the Yankees of the National Hockey League." He said of his transition to the Leafs, "Naturally things are different. When you've been accustomed to doing things a certain way for so long, it's not saying they're right or wrong, you have to take time to see exactly what and how people are doing things." Asked about the Maple Leafs' front-office structure, Lamoriello said, "You don't come in and try and make changes. You see what people do and what they can't do. Give them an opportunity. Because they might have a different way of doing things but it might get the same result. You don't want to change them. That's the process I'm in right now" (ESPN.com, 10/1).
