I just want to see you argue this.
He became the AD at Providence. The Friars sporting department, all sports, became a destination for many collegiate athletes. The basketball team (he hired Pitino) became a perennial winner.
Gets a job in NJ. Wayne Gretzky called the Devils a “Mickey Mouse organization,” they win 3 Cups.
Took a job with the last place Maple Leafs. Somehow they go from 60 something points to almost 100. His last season there they had 105. They dropped point after adding Tavares and they’re on pace to have even less this year. The players Dubas has singed or extended, looking kinda questionable but obviously the narrative on that is far from finished.
Takes a job with the laughingstock NY Islanders. A team I’ve happened to root for my entire life. In a sport, I’ve followed my entire life. They went from the class of the sport, THE model organization to an organization that changed owners like you change pants, that had one owner sent to jail, another owner imprisoned after that one and an owner, even though he probably saved the team from relocating, suggested putting a sumo wrestler in net and brought a “Hockey For Dummies” book to his presser. A team that went from the biggest joke of a GM, trading future Hall-of-famers left and right to a backup goalie with zero experience at that job. Any job.
He goes and hires the best available coach, analyzes the organization the way he sees fit and gets spurned by the team’s best player, again embarrassing an organization that has been embarrassed many, many times.
Did he overpay for Pageau? Of course. Again, don’t care about that and you can spew all this excrement about how Lou is old (he’s almost freaking 80, of course he’s old) but this organization went from laughingstock to a team some players actually want to come to now. A team that expects to win every night. I brought up Melnyk and your Sens to make a point you’ve abundantly ignored...I watched a loser franchise for 25 fuckin years and all of a sudden (coincidence I guess) I expect them to win, almost every night. Crazy, somehow the GM must have something to do with it.