TORONTO — Our conversation Friday afternoon began with Lou Lamoriello reminding me how much he wasn’t that keen to do this interview.



The game is about the players. The focus, he said, should be on Matt Martin and Leo Komarov returning to face their former team Saturday night, not on the GM.



That’s fair, but with all due respect to Martin and Komarov, they weren’t running an iconic, Original Six franchise for three years and guiding its dramatic facelift both on and off the ice.



So I’m sorry, Lou, but your return to Toronto on Saturday night for the first time as general manager of the Islanders is indeed significant because of the work done here.



Lamoriello is not one to display his emotions for public view, but I did ask him how he thought he’d feel walking into the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday for the first time since his departure from the team as visiting GM.



“I guess the best answer to that is...