Devils principal owner says Lamoriello turned 'Mickey Mouse' organization into winner

Lou Lamoriello's name will forever be synonymous with the New Jersey Devils.

The president of the franchise, who gave up his role as general manager on May 4 after hiring Ray Shero, was the architect behind the Devils' three Stanley Cup titles, five conference championships, and nine division championships, turning the franchise into one of the most dominant of its era.

Principal owner Josh Harris, who purchased the Devils along with partner David Blitzer in August 2013, thought the job Lamoriello did was impressive and changed the landscape of hockey in New Jersey.

"I can't say enough about Lou and what he's done for this organization. What was it called? A Mickey Mouse organization and Lou came in and built a consistent winning culture and ultimately delivered three Stanley Cups," Harris said Saturday, according to NJ.com's Rich Chere.

Not only was Harris impressed with Lamoriello building a contender, he also respected the job he did handling the difficult task of keeping the organization strong when tough financial situations threatened its well-being.

"And even more than that, as a personal matter, when the organization was going through some of its financial issues Lou held the place together in a high quality and high class way," said Harris. "The organization has a lot of historical figures, but Lou really is the heart and soul of the organization."

Lamoriello, 72, has been with the Devils since April 1987, when he was hired as team president by then owner John McMullen. Harris hopes the 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee stays aboard the organization for a long time.

"I really hope he's a Devil for life both figuratively and actually day to day. We're working with him to make this an attractive place for him for as long as he wants to be around," explained Harris. "He told me that's going to be for a while. That will ultimately be his decision but we're going to try to maintain his role, his visibility and what he's doing."

The Devils - who have a promising blue line corps and Cory Schneider in goal - are in the midst rebuilding after finishing the regular season 32-36-14 and missing the postseason.