A hefty lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday is packed with peculiar allegations against Lou Lamoriello, most notably that the longtime president and general manager of the Devils has on multiple occasions laughed at employees after they were fired by the team.
The suit, which seeks a total of $2.25 million in damages, was filed by Rich Krezwick, a former president of Devils Arena Entertainment, the operating entity of Prudential Center. Krezwick claims Lamoriello cost him millions when Krezwick was fired following an ownership change in 2013, allegedly because Lamoriello didn't like Krezwick and treated him like his "nemesis," the suit said, via NorthJersey.com.
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Lamoriello had overseen both business and hockey operations during parts of his 22-year career with the Devils. When Krezwick was hired in 2009 to run DAE and the team's business interests, Lamoriello's role was changed to solely focus on hockey. The suit claims Lamoriello resented Krezwick and the two apparently did not see eye-to-eye on the best way to co-exist.
Their contentious relationship even got to the point where Lamoriello refused to be in the same room as Krezwick, according to the lawsuit.
After the contract of Krezwick and several of his associates were terminated by new ownership, Lamoriello allegedly was so happy that he went out of his way to make sure that Krezwick knew about it.
“Lamoriello physically positioned himself in a chair at the base of the employee elevator of the arena so that he could watch these individuals pass by with their boxes of personal belongings in order to leave the building directly after they were fired and to laugh as they passed by, as to take credit for their firing,” reads one portion of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleges Krezwick did not know he was being replaced until an announcement was made during a staff meeting of 100 employees. While Krezwick's replacement, Hugh Weber, was introduced, Lamoriello was "smiling and laughing," according to the suit. Lamoriello is also accused of launching into "vulgarity-laced personal attacks” against Krezwick.
The lawsuit names only Lamoriello, who has been known to have a prickly side but is one of the NHL's most accomplished executives.
He has, however, received criticism for his management of the Devils' hockey operations this season. Lamoriello fired coach Peter DeBoer in December and inserted himself behind the bench, the third time Lamoriello has done that while with the Devils.
New Jersey is in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division with a 17-22-8 record.