Shanaplan faces biggest test
A decade into vision, another early playoff exit could precede president’s
A decade passed, but Brendan Shanahan kept his word.
Last week was the 10-year anniversary of when MLSE hired the Hall of Famer to oversee business and hockey operations for his hometown Maple Leafs.
When Shanahan arrived, the Leafs were still reeling from an epic collapse at the end of the 2013-14 season that saw them lose 12 of their last 14 games to fall out of the playoff race just a year after their epic 2013 Game 7 meltdown in the first round against Boston.
Shanahan brought a new vision that focused on the draft, player development and patience — lots of patience.
“Shortcuts have gotten this organization into trouble in the past,” Shanahan said in 2015 after his first season at the helm. “This has to once and for all be a build that we are committed to and we don’t stray from.”
That commitment has been a blessing and a curse.
It landed his team Auston Matthews (2016), Mitch Marner (2015) and William Nylander (2014) in the draft, which ultimately led to eight consecutive post-season appearances and five straight 100-point seasons, excluding the two pandemic-shortened ones in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
But as we all know, the Leafs have only won a single playoff series since Shanahan arrived a decade ago. And while every playoff failure resulted in an off-season of intense criticism from fans and media alike, Shanahan never quit on the core of this team.
That would have gone against his vision.
“When I was in Detroit, they were able to point back at being swept by New Jersey in the finals as an important part of their development rather than this ugly stain they couldn’t get over,” Shanahan said after taking the job in 2014. The Red Wings, of course, lost in the Stanley Cup final in 1995 after four years of early playoff exits. He helped them win back-to-back Cups in 1997 and 1998 and again in 2002.
“They can tell those stories because they didn’t quit.”
While every April brings immense playoff pressure in Toronto, this spring feels particularly different than any of the previous nine under Shanahan.
With MLSE hiring new CEO Keith Pelley in January, the stakes are higher than ever. It’s the first time in Shanahan’s tenure where it’s believed he will have to report directly to the CEO and not to minority owner Larry Tanenbaum and the board of governors.
“The truth of the matter is … it takes as long as it takes,” Shanahan said in 2015. “Whether people have the patience for that or not, in my opinion you don’t deviate from the vision.”
Tanenbaum stood behind Shanahan’s vision for a long time, but that doesn’t mean Pelley will.
Could another early playoff exit — and after all these years, anything short of a conference final would likely be considered early — trigger the end of the Shanahan era?
While some may argue that just one playoff series win under his tutelage would have gotten most hockey presidents relieved of their duties long ago, we can also debate that Shanahan isn’t most presidents. He was honoured as one of the 100 greatest NHL players in history, after all.
But if these playoffs go south, maybe a new voice at the top would finally say enough is enough.
A domino effect of massive offseason change could follow, including moving on from Mitch Marner and finally ending the Core Four era. If anything, it would be Marner’s contract status, with one year remaining before free agency, that would dictate this decision the most. If the rumblings are true and he’s looking to surpass Nylander’s eight-year, $92-million (U.S.) deal, what other choice would the Leafs have but to trade him?
And, last but not least, what happens to the likes of GM Brad Treliving and head coach Sheldon Keefe? It feels like if anyone gets the benefit of the doubt, it will be Treliving, who only arrived last off-season. For Keefe, even after signing an extension last summer, it would be hard to fathom how he would survive a fifth straight early exit.
To say that there is a lot at stake this spring for the Leafs is an understatement. The best-case scenario for all the major players involved from the top of the organization to the bottom is to remain calm and go deep into the post-season.
A Leafs appearance in a conference final — or, dare I say it, the Stanley Cup final — will make all of this a moot point, and Shanahan will continue to be the long-term leader of this hockey club if he so chooses.
But if that doesn’t happen, it’s anyone’s guess as to what Pelley will have in store.
“We’re competing at the highest level with the Leafs and we need to win,” Pelley told the Star’s Dave Feschuk in a recent interview. “I know that. Brendan knows that.”
All these years later, there’s a new sheriff in town. And make no mistake, he brought his own vision with him.