Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Toronto Maple Leafs Under Lou Lamoriello

11/16/2015 at 4:55pm EST

from Jonas Siegel of TSN,

Like a military unit, solidarity is established everywhere possible. Obvious are the changes in appearance of Leafs players. The beard of Roman Polak is gone. The longish locks of P.A. Parenteau have been trimmed. Any personal grooming details that separate the individual from the team (save for Movember moustaches) are no longer permissible.

Individuality has been dashed otherwise. Lupe's Troops, the game-night tribute to members of the Canadian military once presented by Joffrey Lupul (and Luke Schenn before that) became Leafs Troops when the regular season began. Phaneuf's Friends in the Captain's Corner – a charitable establishment from team captain Dion Phaneuf – was vanquished from the game-night presentation.

Other NHL clubs don't operate quite like this.

In Nashville, placards hung in the rafters of Bridgestone Arena for the charities of Shea Weber, Pekka Rinne, Mike Ribeiro, Mike Fisher and Eric Nystrom. In Dallas, glossy cut-outs of Tyler Seguin sat on seats in the lower bowl before a game against the Leafs. The Stars winger was being celebrated and singled out.

Not so in Toronto under Lamoriello. The team, and not the individual, is the sole focus.

"I know one thing, teams will always win championships, but individual players will win games for you," said Lamoriello, a three-time Stanley Cup champion. "And I think what we're trying to establish here is to set a path toward the ability to win championships."

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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