Lamoriello out as Maple Leafs 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 Lamoriello 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 on a conference call after the team announced that Lamoriello would not be back as GM. “My focus was on Lou and making a decision.”

Lamoriello joined the Maple Leafs in 2015 and agreed to spend seven years with the National Hockey League team: three as GM and four as a senior adviser. When he first arrived, Toronto was in rebuilding mode. Lamoriello helped guide the Maple Lou Lamoriello Leafs back to the post-season over the last two years, although Toronto couldn’t get out of the first round either time. The latest early exit came last week with a best of seven-game loss to the Boston Bruins.

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. With young forwards like Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, the Leafs finished with a 49-26-7 record this season. The 105-point total was good for third place in the Atlantic Division.