from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

... But for GM Lou Lamoriello, who went from Toronto to New York ostensibly to try to convince Tavares to stay, losing his star centre wasn’t emotional — it just a part of the business.

“John is with another team right now and this is no different than when a trade transpires,” Lamoriello said in a phone interview on Friday night. “The only difference here is we certainly wanted John to stay. It’s obvious we did everything we could to convince him of that. It was his right to make any decision he wanted and we respect that. He was honest and upfront in that process.

“You don’t look back. You don’t complain. You just go forward.”

And so, it’s on to Plan B. And no, the “B” does not stand for “bottoming out.”

read on and some Leafs talk too...