What do Pat Burns, Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec have in common? They always sported facial hair, except for one specific moment in their career: when they played for Lou Lamoriello.
Lamoriello’s hair policy hit the headlines again on Sunday, when a clean-shaven Patrick Roy arrived at the New York Islanders. The same Patrick Roy who wore a particularly shaggy beard at the end of the Memorial Cup tournament last year.
Gionta is well placed to talk about the rules of the oldest NHL GM. Arriving with the Devils in 2001, he was on the team when Pat Burns was hired as head coach, revealing his upper lip to the world perhaps for the very first time since his early childhood.
“It shows that everyone needs to get on board, doesn’t it? says the former Canadian on the line. This is the strength of Lou’s organizations. People respect this spirit of sacrifice. Even Pat Burns, a big guy, tough and gruff. When he arrived, we immediately noticed that he had shaved. But no one teased him, because it was Pat Burns! »
PHOTO DENIS COURVILLE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Pat Burns behind the New Jersey Devils bench in 2003
The beardless Pat Burns was hardly talked about at the time. Our research in the archives of The Press and other media have not revealed anything in this regard. The venerable Marc de Foy, who covered Burns’ career from start to finish, confirms that it wasn’t a topic of conversation at the time. That Roy’s beard, although not in his DNA like the mustache was for Burns, has become one, “I blame that on the Internet”, estimates the colleague of the Montreal Journal.
Culture
The famous Lamoriello rules leave no one indifferent. That of the beard is the best known. When the Canadian traded Tomas Plekanec to the Toronto Maple Leafs, then managed by Lamoriello, he had to trim his famous goatee, which he had however re-grown in the playoffs, the only time when an exemption is granted.
Hair length is also regulated. Alexander Romanov, who always had a few strands sticking out of his Canadian helmet, changed his haircut when he arrived with the Islanders in 2022.
“Brendan Shanahan returned to the Devils at the end of his career. He had always had long hair, but he arrived with short hair. We still understood that everyone had to comply,” recalls Gionta, about the 656-goal scorer.
“It wasn’t complicated. He wanted us to be real professionals, not bums,” describes Jacques Caron, Devils goalie coach from 1993 to 2010.
Gionta was never given a black and white explanation of these rules. “From my conversations with him, I deduced that he wanted us to appear professional, and it was the team above all else. You give your identity to the group, so your beard, your hair, your sweater number. It’s like a sacrifice for the team. You can be yourself, but you have to give yourself to something bigger. »
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Brian Gionta with the New Jersey Devils in 2009
Devils radio play-by-play announcer Matt Loughlin has his own guess as to what those criteria are. He recalls that Lamoriello was close to George Steinbrenner, late owner of the New York Yankees. “When we played in Tampa, he spent time with Steinbrenner, and the Yankees had the same rules. I don’t know if Lou did it to imitate the Yankees or if he already believed in it, but everyone knew what to expect. »
Wearing a jacket and tie, a more widespread convention in the NHL, also went without saying. But with the Devils, it applied to the entire staff. Loughlin first acted as a television announcer, for an independent station. When he moved to radio, he then became an employee of the team, since the Devils have their own network. “I was then required to be in a suit and tie,” says Loughlin. In many ways, Lou was easy to work for, but the rules were the rules. »
Lamoriello was once known for his rigidity with player numbers, which he preferred below 40, a rule which later relaxed somewhat.
Another example: agents. Lamoriello was not fond of them, although it was not possible to make it a rule, since they are squarely part of the NHL ecosystem. When Pat Burns was head coach, he was represented by his cousin, Robin, a Montrealer who himself played in the NHL. Except it wasn’t Robin Burns who negotiated Pat’s contract in New Jersey…
“I represented him for his contracts with Toronto and Boston. But Lou didn’t want to go through an agent. That was old school too! I spoke to Pat, Pat spoke to Lou, then Pat came back to me and the communication happened like that,” explains Robin Burns.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello
Loyalty
Lamoriello also exercises tight control of information, which can be seen as a way of testing the loyalty of his employees. Only him, the players and the head coach are authorized to speak to the media, except in rare exceptions. It often happens that it withholds information that other organizations would immediately disclose, including contract signatures.
“If he asks someone to keep something confidential and you abuse their trust, he’ll never forget it. But if you keep it a secret, he will also remember it, emphasizes Robin Burns. In professional sports, sometimes people like to talk to the media and hog the glory. Lou believes a lot in the team concept. »
Patrick Roy’s new boss is a special character, capable of both loyalty and incomprehensible decisions. For example, he fired two coaches (Robbie Ftorek and Claude Julien) as the playoffs approached, and another, Pete DeBoer, during the Christmas break in 2014.
But conversely, those who have had positive experiences with him only remember the good. Robin Burns can attest to this.
“Behind his rigid appearance, he is a very gentle person. He became very close to Pat over the years and often came to visit him when he was ill in the end. When Pat died, he brought the whole team to the funeral. That was incredible of him. »
“Loyalty, for Lou, is true,” adds Jacques Caron. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, he told me: Part of the reason I’m here is because of guys like you. He is not ungrateful, he remembers those who helped him. »