Shanahan’s GM might be in mirror
Four years have gone fast.
Brendan Shanahan passed that anniversary as Maple Leafs hockey boss just over three weeks ago, and if it all seems like a blur since he was first introduced, imagine what it must feel like for him.
No point going over again what he inherited. The men before him did their best, but they weren’t able to get this hockey club turned forcefully in the right direction, at least not the way Shanahan has been able to.
It’s been a remarkable period: an ascension from the worst team in hockey to one of the best, the hiring of leading hockey men such as Mike Babcock and Lou Lamoriello, and the drafting of cornerstone players Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner.
Shanahan’s going to outlast Brian Burke, John Ferguson Jr. and Pat Quinn as the top man in the hockey organization — the titles have been different, but everyone knew who was in charge — and seems certain to pass Cliff Fletcher’s five-year, 11-month run as well.
In the post-expansion era, Jim Gregory holds the record for Leaf job security. Gregory was general manager under Harold Ballard for 10 years and three months, an extraordinary accomplishment for longevity under a destructive owner.
Will Shanahan outlast Gregory? An interesting question. Shanahan’s roots are deep now, and any suggestion this was just a temporary stop on his hockey journey now seems silly. He’s in this for the long haul, and in it to finish the job he started.
That Shanahan is even more focused on the target was evident this week when he relieved Lamoriello of the GM’s job. Understand this: There are few men in hockey Shanahan reveres more than Lamoriello. It was a challenge to hire a man who Shanahan had once worked for, and doubly difficult to stick by his plan and inform Lamoriello that it was time for someone else to take on that job title.
Sentimentalism could have swayed Shanahan from his path. Heck, results could have, as well. Under Lamoriello, the team had gone from laughingstock to 105 points. He hardly deserved to be replaced. The opposite, really. You could argue his performance warranted an extension on his three-year arrangement. The discipline of the organization changed dramatically under Lamoriello, who applied his military-like attitudes to a franchise that for too long had been unable to get owners, executives, coaches and players singing from the same hymn book.
But Shanahan refused to budge, and in so doing served a reminder to fans and observers that in this era of Leaf hockey, the buck still stops at his desk. He may have shifted to the shadows in terms of visibility, with Babcock now the front man for the hockey club on a daily basis, and people such as Lamo- riello, Mark Hunter and Kyle Dubas viewed as the executives running the club.
But there is no question that from the point of view of those who share ownership of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, it’s very much still In Brendan We Trust.
You could make the argument that Shanahan is the most powerful Leaf executive since Punch Imlach in the 1960s. Gregory had a lot of influence, but Ballard could always countermand his orders and often did. Steve Stavro initially wanted to fire Fletcher when he was first hired, and the window of true authority wielded by the Silver Fox was cut short when Stavro started to run out of cash.
Quinn? He had Ken Dryden to deal with as boss, and then got Ferguson inserted over his head.
Shanahan, however, was given immense authority when he was hired, and he hasn’t surrendered an ounce of it. He’s certainly got more power than any executive of any other Canadianbased NHL club.
But this being Toronto, power can also be taken away or lost. For Shanahan, it’s no longer about cleaning up the mess or carefully building a first-rate hockey organization. It’s no longer about making the painful choices necessary to weaken the roster sufficiently so that a star like Matthews could be acquired through the draft.
From now on, it’s just about wins and losses, playoff victories and, yes, taking a stab at the Stanley Cup. That’s not to say he’ll be gone if there’s no Cup in the next two seasons. But this is no longer about fixing something. It’s been fixed. He’s now got to get this race car running faster — faster than any other car.
He knows that. He knows the toughest part of his job begins now. Getting from nightmarish bad to 105 points was straightforward. Getting to a conference final, or a Cup final, will be five times as difficult. His decision to make the Lamoriello move reflected an understanding of that, a belief that what it’s taken to get to this point won’t be enough to reach higher plateaus.
The belief is that Dubas or Hunter will be the next GM, and more likely Dubas than Hunter. Both men have served a lengthy apprenticeship. They may be ready. They should be ready.
At the same time, nobody has learned more than Shanahan. You have to at least stop and wonder if he would be the best choice for GM. He’s more qualified than anyone in the organization. He’s seen former teammate Steve Yzerman take Tampa Bay to higher heights, and the Lightning could even take the Cup this spring.
Shanahan didn’t see himself as the right person to be GM when he hired Lamoriello. But working so closely with Lamoriello has been an education. There’s no question Shanahan could do the GM’s job now.
The only question is whether he should. Or will. Damien Cox’s column appears Tuesdays and Saturdays