TORONTO — They negotiated term and they negotiated salary. But when Matt Martin sat down to sign his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1, the free agent forward was told that length was non-negotiable.

In other words, he would have to cut his long blonde hair.

“It was my agent who brought it up to me,” said Martin. “I don’t know the exact rules, but (GM Lou Lamoriello) wants guys to be clean shaven and have relatively short hair. I’ve been playing in the league long enough to know that’s what he wants.”

Lamoriello’s teams have always been like that. Back when he was running the New Jersey Devils, his reputation as an old-school conservative who stressed conformity earned him the nickname “Tal-Lou-Ban.” Some even believe he influenced long-time New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner into instituting a similar edict whereby Don Mattingly was benched for growing his hair too long.

How long is too long in Toronto? Well, a safe bet is to keep it shorter than head coach Mike Babcock’s, who said, “I often have the longest hair.”

In a league where San Jose’s Brent Burns and Joe Thornton went to the Stanley Cup final with ZZ Top-inspired beards, “Lou’s Rules” might seem a bit antiquated. And yet, the Leafs are hardly the only NHL team that applies them.

It’s not always about the length of a player’s hair. In the case of P.K. Subban, it’s sometimes about having too big of a personality. That, more than his on-ice play, seemed to be the reason why the Montreal Canadiens traded the Norris Trophy-winning defenceman to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber.

According to Subban, it wasn’t a hockey trade so much as it was a culture trade. Subban had reportedly had made himself bigger than the team, and in the NHL, that can be worse than putting the puck in your own net.

“When I hear these things about the music, about ‘the suits you wear and the way you talk,’ or ‘you were speaking your mind’ — I mean, we’re professionals,” Subban said in an upcoming HBO documentary, Skate Past the Noise. “As long as you perform like a professional on the ice — I mean, you look at my age, I’m just coming into my prime, I’m 27 years old, these are supposed to be the best years of my career coming.”

That Subban, who three years ago was named the best defencemen in the league, would be traded because of his colourful suits and billboard-sized personality is a bit like Mattingly being benched for having bushy sideburns. It’s laughable. But it’s hardly surprising.

This is a sport that still frowns upon players who celebrate too much following a goal or, in Subban’s case, low-five their goalie after a win. In an interview with St. John’s IceCaps broadcaster Brian Rogers in October, Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur said, “The point is hockey is not a one-man show and that’s why they got rid of P.K.”

“Lou’s Rules” operate in the same way.

When I asked Lamoriello last year why he continues to enforce rules that seem like they were created in the black-and-white era of television, he said “Individual players can help you win games, but teams win championships.” In other words, you want every player, whether it is a top-line star or a fourth-line grinder, to pull on the rope at the same time. Having a unified appearance plays into that concept.

“You wake up in the morning and you’ve got to shave your face and go to work,” said Martin. “That’s the mentality behind it.”

On an older team, maybe you don’t need these visual reminders. But the Leafs are a young team that is rebuilding and trying to form an identity and a culture. There is no team captain and the current leaders in the dressing room likely won’t be around when Toronto eventually turns the corner. It’s important that the Leafs create a professional culture that the rookies can grow up in.

So far, everyone is buying into the concept.

“I don’t know P.K. personally, but I think hockey is the most team game in the world,” said Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen. “It’s not like basketball where you have two or three superstars that can win you a championship. You need all four lines to come together. That’s why you win.

“I think shaving and having short hair is a good thing, because it’s about team unity. You’re representing the whole team and the organization, not just yourself. There’s a rich history with the Leafs.”

That history no longer includes mullets, which Leafs rookie Mitch Marner said might be for the best.

“It was crazy. They sort of let everything fly,” Marner said of his time with the London Knights. “I’m sure (Matt Martin) would still like his long hair if he could grow it, but it’s our team rule here.

“It might not be one on other teams, but we have to respect the rules here.”

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