About a half-hour later, Lamoriello was standing behind a window in a second-floor observatory, watching practice by himself and soaking in the experience. It is one he won't soon forget.
"Being in this place named after [McMullen], it's a special place, it's a special day," said Lamoriello, 75. "He certainly brought me into the National Hockey League. I spent 14 years with him in the capacity that I had (with the Devils).
"When he sold the team, our friendship grew to a different level until the day that he passed. And I was privileged and honored to have the family ask me to eulogize him. He was a friend.
"I think he's an individual who is very misunderstood. He did things for the reasons you should do them, for the right reasons. Not for any notoriety or publicity. He was a Naval Academy graduate. He believed in the Naval Academy and supported it, as you can see from this complex here."
Lamoriello said McMullen's influence can also be seen in the growth of grass-roots hockey in New Jersey.
"I can remember when I first went there, there were about 40 high schools that played hockey," Lamoriello said. "When I left (in 2015), there were over 125, 130. He's done so many things for youth groups and people like that, but in his own quiet way."
On Saturday, weather permitting, the Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals will face off in front of more than 30,000 people under the lights of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, NHL.TV).
Among those in the stands will be 500-plus servicemen and servicewomen, a scene Lamoriello can't wait to experience.
"Without these individuals, we wouldn't have the safeness and the lifestyle we're all able to have here in North America," Lamoriello said.
"I've had such a great feeling when we've had our armed forces nights in Toronto because they're a group where you can't really express what they mean. When you look at your grandchildren and you look at your loved ones, all of those who are important in our lives, it's these people who have sacrificed for us and for our families to keep us safe and allow us to have the lifestyle we do.
"We can't ever lose sight of that."