10 questions after Lamoriello hiring One day after Toronto shocked the hockey world by adding veteran general manager, TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli examines the lingering uncertainties surrounding the franchise's present and future.

Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

One day after Lou Lamoriello's stunning dash to the Maple Leafs, we are left with more questions than answers. Here is an attempt to answer some of those lingering uncertainties about the Leafs' present and immediate future:

1. Is Lou Lamoriello grooming assistant GM Kyle Dubas to be the Leafs' next general manager?

Brendan Shanahan said Lamoriello will mentor everyone on the Leafs' staff, including the president himself. No one person has more room to grow or learn in the Maple Leafs' front office than Dubas, who was not yet one-year-old when Lamoriello took over in New Jersey in 1987.

The expectation of Dubas one day becoming a GM was mentioned for the first time by Lamoriello on Thursday - perhaps giving him a leg up for the future over longtime hockey man Mark Hunter.

"I think he's a young fellow who has tremendous abilities," Lamoriello said. "I know of his background. If he doesn't become general manager here, and I'm not going to be here for a lifetime, it's going to be his fault."

Dubas, 28, took trade calls from the NHL's other 29 general managers before the draft and free agent season, playing a role in the departure of Phil Kessel. Lamoriello's hiring was a sign Dubas was not yet ready to take on that role full-time.

Lamoriello's contract is three years in length. It is the first time in Lamoriello's 28-year NHL career that details on the length of his contract have been made public. Even though he is not joining the Maple Leafs "for a lifetime," Lamoriello indicated he'd be interested in staying longer than just three years.

The conversation might be quite different three years from now. Dubas will no longer be green, for sure, after working under Lamoriello.

2. Does Lamoriello really have "full autonomy" on player personnel decisions?

During the hiring process, Shanahan said this job would "not be for everyone." The reason it may not have been for everyone - particularly experienced GMs on the market - may have been because this job seemingly has less authority and autonomy than most. It is more group-think, less absolute rule.

Exactly how the decision-making process will unfold is the most fascinating part of Lamoriello's hiring. The Maple Leafs seemingly have a three-headed monster now in the front office - Brendan Shanahan, Lamoriello and Mike Babcock - each with his own ego.

To hear Lamoriello explain it to reporters, he has complete "autonomy." Is that necessarily the same as authority? Lamoriello said he will report to Shanahan. Everyone else, apparently including Babcock, will report to him.

Part of that autonomy would have likely been guaranteed by Shanahan, a condition for the job. If Lamoriello was simply going to be a senior adviser with the Leafs, the thinking goes, he would have just stayed on as president in New Jersey, where he was comfortable.

In reality, the Leafs' decision-making process seems a little bit more nuanced, more tangled than "complete control" for Lamoriello. Shanahan said on TSN 1050 that Lamoriello will "be a leader, he will make decisions," he will "have a strong presence" but ultimately will "make the decisions within the group mentality."

It will be a change for Lamoriello, who is used to only reporting to an owner, one who usually only kept an eye on dollars.

"Winners know how to adapt to win," Shanahan told reporters Thursday. "Is it going to be a challenge? Yeah, sure … (Lamoriello) comes into this job with his eyes wide open as to how I envisioned the organization, which is the same as Mike (Babcock). Which is (assistant to Lamoriello) Brandon Pridham is just as important to him as anyone else that I've hired, in his own way. As is (director of player personnel) Mark Hunter. As is Kyle Dubas. As is the coach, and the GM. As is (Marlies coach) Sheldon Keefe."

3. Why was Lamoriello right for the job?

He was marginalized in New Jersey after Ray Shero was hired on May 4. He was pushed up to his role as team president, but not out of the organization, and had little to no control over the team's personnel moves.

Shanahan first requested permission to speak to Lamoriello for the Maple Leafs opening in May, but was rebuffed by the Devils. He tried again a few weeks ago, playing to Lamoriello's competitiveness.

"I know you too well," Lamoriello recounted Shanahan's words during the courting stage. "This is not going to last long. I want you to think about something. Just think about (our conversation). Every time you're not in the fire, you're not in the line, I want you to think about it."

A more hands-on approach, even if it meant moving to a new organization for the first time in three decades, ended up being more appealing for Lamoriello than remaining a figurehead in New Jersey.

For the Leafs, coupling Lamoriello's Stanley Cup pedigree with his hunger for at least some additional control and power, made him an ideal fit. Before moving Phil Kessel, there wasn't a single member of the Maple Leafs front office who had made an NHL trade.

"I do think that we were lacking in some experience," Shanahan told reporters Thursday. "So if I could map out or draw out a description of the kind of person that we wanted, it would be Lou."

4. Will Lamoriello's famous "team culture" continue with the Maple Leafs?

The days of the Maple Leafs players deciding amongst themselves that they will not salute the fans at Air Canada Centre after a win are over.

Lamoriello will aim to install a disciplined culture in Toronto. He famously restricted players from choosing high jersey numbers, instructed them to keep their hair short and their beards trimmed close. On top of that, the Devils were known to frequently eat meals on the road as a team, stay in different hotels than the rest of the teams in the league and maintain strict curfews and bed checks.

Only certain types of people, former Devils players say, were "true Devils."

How much of that will carry-over from New Jersey to Toronto remains to be seen.

"We haven't gotten that far yet," Shanahan responded Thursday, when asked about some of those team tactics.

More importantly, Lamoriello will serve as a shield for his players. He protects confidentiality. He will do anything to make players' jobs easier, even if that means taking bullets from the media to remove that distraction in hockey's biggest fishbowl.

"He is the best at removing excuses," longtime Devils director of scouting David Conte said. "I think some of that (team-first aura) is overblown. It's not a big issue. I never once walked into our locker room and thought it wasn't light or there was joking around. There is a level of comfort. He lets you be who you are. He treats players like men.

"There is no clock to punch, but he does demand work. One of his favorite sayings is, 'If you study for the test, you have a lot of confidence taking it.' He expects people to show up and do their jobs."

All of those Devils traditions, however quirky, have reason. People matter. Lamoriello believes people ultimately forget whether someone was a good player or not, only if they were a good person or teammate. Conte said one of the people Lamoriello will probably miss the most is Jimmy Brown, the Prudential Center's parking attendant. Every member of the staff - from executive assistant to trainer to coach to player - was a part of the team.

Conte knows first-hand. In 1991, his father passed away. He'd worked under Lamoriello for about four years and wasn't yet promoted from being a pro scout. He was sitting in his mother's living room in his hometown of Niagara Falls, Ont. It was 11 o'clock at night and someone threw a rock at the window.

"I was thinking 'Who the hell is throwing a rock at the window at this hour?'" Conte said. "It was Lou. He flew up in this tiny plane, which shouldn't even have landed in a blizzard, and then drove and crossed the border to see me."

Lamoriello only had a few minutes to spend - he needed to get back for a game - but the gesture meant the world to Conte. His genuine people-first mentality purposely didn't often make it to the news because of his confidential nature. It wasn't about Lamoriello, he said, it was about the team.

"You don't get it until you live it," Conte said.

5. Will former Devils director of scouting David Conte join Lamoriello in Toronto?

Conte, who was actually inherited by Lamoriello in New Jersey, did not have his contract renewed this month after serving the team for 31 seasons. He was one of Lamoriello's close confidants.

"I'd be foolish to pretend that (job) would not have great appeal for me," Conte said, when reached at his home in New Hampshire on Friday. "It is a complicated process; there are already people in place. It's really so premature to even have that discussion. This is really about Lou and his job and how great this is for him."

Mark Hunter is the Leafs' director of player personnel.

Conte said he is "okay" with his dismissal from the Devils. Like Lamoriello, Conte wants a voice at the table of a new team; a position with meaning. He doesn't want a "courtesy" job.

"Slowing down sounds good, until you actually do it," Conte said. "I can imagine that's exactly how Lou felt."

6. What happens to Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak, Dion Phaneuf and the rest of the Maple Leafs' core under Lamoriello?

If anything, Lamoriello's arrival seemingly adds a little time to the clock for Lupul, Bozak, Phaneuf et al. in Toronto. For one, Lamoriello isn't one to pre-judge a player. He will take time to take inventory of the Leafs' roster. He will give each player a chance to prove himself, plus decide whether that player is "enthusiastic" and "appreciative" of playing in the Toronto market - two qualities Shanahan said he is seeking in players.

Then, Lamoriello will surely eradicate players he doesn't see fit, either by playing style, work ethic or attitude. No element matters more to Lamoriello than "team." He has little time for individuals bigger than the team.

One bonus for the older Leafs core - if they are interested in staying in Toronto - is that Lamoriello has historically built his teams with veterans. The average age of last year's Devils roster was 31, nearly three years older than the league average of 28.

7. What will happen (if or) when Lamoriello and Babcock clash or have a difference in opinion?

For once, Lamoriello has a coach in Mike Babcock that he cannot fire, thanks to the latter's 8-year, $50-million contract.

Starting with Doug Carpenter in 1987, there were 18 different head coaching stints in New Jersey during Lamoriello's 28-year tenure. He fired Pete DeBoer on Boxing Day last December then stepped behind the bench himself - one of the three times he became the Devils' head coach – alongside Adam Oates and Scott Stevens

Babcock has as much or more leverage as any coach in league history. His opinion will be heard - and often acted on. He praised the move, saying the Leafs got a lot better with Lamoriello's hiring.

"I just believe in no tiptoeing," Babcock told the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur. "I want you to fight for your idea. Kenny Holland used to say, 'You don't mind managing, so I'm going to coach the team.' So I'd give him my input and he'd give me his input … Hire the best people because they make you better, they challenge you to be better."

8. How much will hockey analytics and advanced stats figure into Lamoriello's player personnel decisions?

The true answer is Lamoriello likely won't have much of a choice but to consider advanced stats and analytics with Dubas providing input.

Let's not forget: Lamoriello is actually a numbers person at heart. He was, after all, a math teacher at Johnston High School in Johnston, R.I., in the early 1970s after graduating from Providence College.

Last summer, prior to his last season with the Devils, New Jersey hired Sunny Mehta to report to Lamoriello on all things analytics. That move was seemingly pushed by new Devils owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who hired forward thinker Sam Hinkie to run their basketball franchise, the Philadelphia 76ers. How much (if at all) Lamoriello used Mehta in his decision making process is unknown, though some say he does "interpret that stuff." Others say it was a "real uphill climb" for Mehta to be heard.

Lamoriello is a believer that analytics are of value when used as supportive theory, not as creative theory. Meaning, they can be used to prove or disprove an idea or trend, but believes they are unlikely to serve as the genesis of a new idea.

When tasked with "sounding progressive" or "being good," Lamoriello chooses "being good" every time. He is known to laugh at some of the new words in the hockey lexicon: since when did "backside pressure" replace "back checking?" Or when did "F1, F2 and F3" replace "left wing, center and right wing?" Lamoriello prefers to boil things down to their most simple form, as a way of removing clutter and "bull-bleep."

9. Will the Maple Leafs be able to stick to the rebuilding plan with a 72-year-old general manager who breathes a winning-is-everything motto?

That will be the biggest challenge, as Shanahan admitted in the past.

Unlike with the Devils, Lamoriello does not have a lifetime contract in Toronto. He will be 75 when his three-year deal is up, possibly hastening a sentiment of 'win-now,' or least the push to get the Leafs on some semblance of that track rather quickly.

Under him, Babcock mans the bench with an equally competitive fire.

"He forever wants to win the next game," Conte said of Lamoriello. "Maybe that's why he didn't recognize right away when we needed to start that (rebuild) prices in New Jersey. It was hard to replace Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk, Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, all those types of players who left at one point or another."

When asked if Lamoriello would be on-board with a painful rebuild that may take more years than he has on his contract, Conte responded: "Oh, hell yes."

"This was a dramatic shock," Conte said of the move. "I remember interviewing Brendan Shanahan before the draft. The Bruins interviewed him before us. We were a nobody franchise. I asked Brendan if that would be a problem, he looked at me like I was nuts. He was just happy to be in the NHL. Brendan gets what needs to happen. The Devils improved, grew, won under Lou. He has a clear vision of what he wants. It's not a perfect science. He will do what he thinks is right. With him, the real work is the process."

10. What will the Leafs look like and where will they be in the standings April 9, 2016 when they visit the House That Lou Built to play his old team on the final night of the regular season?

Stay tuned.

Frank Seravalli can be reached at frank.seravalli@bellmedia.ca.