Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello will not return to the role next season.
Team President Brendan Shanahan said Monday he was sticking to a plan that called for the 75-year-old Lamoriello to serve as GM for three years and then transition to senior adviser for four years.
Shanahan said he doesn’t have a timeline for filling the GM position.
”I haven’t begun that process and that’s why nobody has been named
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The Maple Leafs set franchise records for points (105) and wins (49) in the regular season, but were eliminated in seven games by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs last week. Coach Mike Babcock, Shanahan and the rest of the team expected more this year after getting back to the postseason a year ago.
Auston Matthews found his scoring touch amid injury woes and goalie Frederik Andersen set a franchise record for wins in a season with 38. Among the issues for the new GM: Veteran forwards James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov are among the players set to hit unrestricted free agency, and Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander are due big raises in the not-too-distant future.
”I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lou for his tireless work over the last three years as general manager
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Lamoriello won the Stanley Cup three times as GM of the New Jersey Devils. Lamoriello spent 27 seasons as Devils GM before stepping down in May 2015 and joining the Maple Leafs in their rebuilding effort. Now he will take on a new role for Toronto.
”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.”
The Hockey Hall of Famer also served as GM of the American team that won the World Cup of Hockey in 1996. He returned to that post with USA Hockey for the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
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A look at what’s happening around the majors Monday:
LOOKING FOR No. 15
Yankees ace Luis Severino (14-2, 2.31 ERA) tries goes for his major league-leading 15th win in the opener of a series at Tampa Bay. Severino is 6-0 with a 2.41 ERA over his last six starts, including three scoreless outings of at least 6 2/3 innings each. New York
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FAREWELL TOUR
Former Phillies second baseman Chase Utley starts his final regular-season series at Philadelphia, where he helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series, when the Los Angeles Dodgers come to town to open a three-game series. Utley announced July 13 he will retire from baseball at the end of this season, capping a 16-year career, to spend more time with his wife and two young sons. The 39-year-old made his name with the Phillies, earning five All-Star berths and winning four Silver Slugger awards before a trade to the Dodgers in August 2015 brought him back to his roots. He was born in nearby Pasadena and played at Long Beach Poly High and UCLA.
SURGING ALONG
Corey Dickerson looks to keep his recent power surge going as the Pittsburgh Pirates try for their 10th straight win in the opener of a series against the Cleveland Indians. Dickerson has hit five homers in the last four games
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STRUGGLING STAR
After an outstanding run heading into the All-Star break, Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt looks to snap out of a 1-for-12 slump since the midseason game when the Diamondbacks open a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Goldschmidt struck out out a whopping nine times in a three-game series against Colorado, including three times on Sunday. The All-Star first baseman was the player of the month for June after beginning the season with one of the worst and most extended slumps of his career.
DELAYED DEGROM
The New York Mets send All-Star ace Jacob deGrom (5-4, 1.68) to the mound in the series opener against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field. The right-hander, sporting the lowest ERA in the majors this season
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