 Hoping to light a spark under the team, team owner John McMullen hired Providence College coach and athletic director Lou Lamoriello as team president in April 1987.Lamoriello appointed himself general manager shortly before the 1987–88 season.This move came as a considerable surprise to NHL circles; although Lamoriello had been a college coach for 19 years, he had never played, coached, or managed in the NHL and was almost unknown outside the American college hockey community.