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Neither Lamoriello nor the Devils, who re-signed Larsson to a six-year, US$25-million contract in July, regret the decision. At the same time, those thinking fourth-overall pick Mitch Marner might be headed on a similar course with the Leafs, think again.

“When you look at Adam Larsson, you have to look at prior to his draft,” said Lamoriello. “He played two years of pro hockey in Sweden. Left home and played in the Swedish Elite League for two full years. That was a little different than a player playing in junior. So there are unique situations.”

Lamoriello is not ready to rule out that Marner, who scored 126 points in 63 games in the Ontario Hockey League this season, could be another unique situation. “If the exception takes place, believe me it’s there,” he said. But heading into this weekend’s Rookie Tournament in London, Ont., which features prospects from the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins, the Leafs GM is hoping for a little normalcy.

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In other words, get a picture while you can of Marner in a Leafs jersey. You probably won’t see it anytime soon. And that probably goes for William Nylander (8th overall, 2014), Kasperi Kapanen (22nd, 2014) and many of the organization’s other blue-chip prospects.

Lamoriello is not trying to squash any dreams. But with the Leafs in a rebuilding mode — The Hockey News picked Toronto to finish last in the Atlantic Division — the organization is trying to take a long-range view to drafting and developing. It began last year, when the team refused to call-up minor-league standouts Nylander (32 points in 37 games) and Connor Brown (61 points in 76 games) for a single NHL game even at the end of the year. No one expects that philosophy to change this year with Marner or Kapanen or anyone else.