Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Has he lost it?


This has not been a good three months for Certified Genius Lou Lamoriello. On April 2nd, he fired his coach in the midst of a playoff run and stepped behind the bench. Then, his team looked all too vulnerable against Tampa Bay in the first round of the playoffs before going quick and quiet against Ottawa in the second round. He didn't have a chance to make a pick in the 2007 draft until pick #57 came around (Mike Hoeffel for those scoring at home). As July started, he watched as Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski, and Brad Luckowich left the warm embrace of Newark.

So, what did Lou do to strike back?

He signed Dainius Zubrus to a six year deal at $3.4 million per.

I'll repeat that . . . he signed Dainius Zubrus to a six year deal at $3.4 million per.

OK, that's half the cap hit of what Scott Gomez is costing the Rangers, but...geez, Lou.

The Peerless will stipulate that Lou forgot more about hockey over his morning coffee than I am ever going to know, but . . . geez, Lou.

This for a guy who in 79 games centering a supreme goal scorer and then manning a wing on the top offense in the National Hockey League managed to score a total of . . . 60 points. Who was 0-8-8, +1 in 15 playoff games.

$20.4 million over six years.

Geez, Lou.

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