Leafs say Lou Lamoriello will not return as GM

TORONTO — Lou Lamoriello will be moving from general manager to a senior adviser role with the Toronto Maple Leafs, as the two sides had always planned. What remained unclear Monday is who might replace him as GM.

Team president Brendan Shanahan said he plans to focus all of his attention on finding Lamoriello’s replacement but doesn’t have a timeline in place for filling the position.

“I haven’t begun that process and that’s why nobody has been named,” Shanahan said. “My focus was on Lou and making a decision, taking a little bit of time right after the season ended to really reflect on that. So I’m just handling one thing at a time.”

Lamoriello joined the Maple Leafs in 2015 and agreed to spend seven years with the team: three as GM and four as senior adviser.

Lamoriello helped guide the Maple Leafs back to the post-season over the last two years.

The 75-year-old said he is most proud of the team’s steady rise up the standings over his three-year run as GM. Now he’s ready for the new challenge of serving as a senior adviser.

“It’s an unknown,” Lamoriello said. “I’ve never been in a situation like that. So like everything else in life, you learn as you go and make the best of it.”

With young forwards like Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner anchoring the squad, the Maple Leafs finished with a 4926-7 record this season. The 105-point total was good for third place in the Atlantic Division.

Lamoriello declined to discuss his future plans during the team’s end-of-season availability last Friday. But he confirmed Monday that he was looking forward to continue his work in the Maple Leafs’ front office.

Lamoriello spent 27 seasons as Devils’ GM before stepping down in 2015.

He won the Stanley Cup three times as GM in New Jersey.