On Thursday morning, it was announced that Lou Lamoriello would become the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs after spending the last 28 years of being the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the New Jersey Devils.

The news was shocking considering Lamoriello’s status. Lamoriello is considered to be one of the greatest front office executives in sports history. During his 28 years with the organization, the Devils made the playoffs 21 times, made the Stanley Cup Finals 5 times, and won the Stanley Cup 3 times. The Devils were a constant Cup contender during most of Lamoriello’s tenure with the team. He drafted future superstars Marty Brodeur and Brendan Shanahan and was instrumental in helping bring Soviet hockey players to play in the NHL when the Soviet Union started to fall in the 1980’s.

The hire was one of many in a long rebuild for the Maple Leafs. The club may be the most valuable in the NHL according to Forbes Magazine, but they currently have the longest Stanley Cup drought. They haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967 and for the last decade, the Maple Leafs have been one of the worst teams in the league, only making the playoffs once since 2004. In April 2014, the Maple Leafs hired NHL Hall-of-Famer Brendan Shanahan to be the President of Hockey Operations. In May 2015, after another bad season, the Maple Leafs hired Mike Babcock to be their new coach. Babcock is considered to be one of the best coaches in the NHL. He was the coach of the Detroit Red Wings for the past ten seasons. The Red Wings never missed the playoffs with Babcock as head coach, and won the Stanley Cup in 2008.

Thursday’s hiring could begin a serious upward trend for the Maple Leafs franchise. The Maple Leafs have been criticized for having a poor front office in recent seasons, but now that they have some of the best personnel in the league, it could lead to better decisions and better player development. Shanahan continues to say that the rebuild won’t happen overnight, but with the additions of Lamoriello (the guy who drafted him into the League back in 1987) and Babcock, the Maple Leafs could become serious Cup contenders sooner rather than later.