Brendan Shanahan to be named president of Maple Leafs

[BlueWhiteBlood]

I found a lot of Shanahan's discipline calls annoyingly baffling in terms of inconsistency/logic. Felt the same way about Campbell as well, so maybe its a function of the position.

Still, its somewhat soured me on the guy.

Maybe he wanted to get out of there just as much, he did, what? One year, or two?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I remember back when he was a player, Shanahan laughing at the possibility of signing with the leafs... Something to the effect of him hating the city and the team... So yeah, glad he's here.

I could be remembering this wrong or it was just a crazy rumour but still...

I honestly don't see the value that he brings to the team at all.

I think he said that he wouldn't ever sign with a Canadian club. Can't remember the exact reason but I don't think he ever said anything about hating Toronto. He is from the area.

 

[L K]

I remember back when he was a player, Shanahan laughing at the possibility of signing with the leafs... Something to the effect of him hating the city and the team... So yeah, glad he's here.

I could be remembering this wrong or it was just a crazy rumour but still...

I honestly don't see the value that he brings to the team at all.

I think he said that he wouldn't ever sign with a Canadian club. Can't remember the exact reason but I don't think he ever said anything about hating Toronto. He is from the area.

As for the front office. 
They need an actual capologist.  The Leafs have been very poor at managing their contracts.
They need to hire some pro scouts/upper management guys who are big on ALL statistics and not just goals, hits and blocked shots.

 

[dappleganger]

I, for one, can't wait to see the new condo ideas Shanny will come up with.

 

[Kin]

I'm a little skeptical of the move. Just in general I'm not really a fan of the concept of having there be an additional layer of management between the team's GM and the ownership without a very well defined role or responsibilities that fall outside the typical purview of the GM. Either you're giving the President significant authority when it comes to making hockey decisions, in which case the GM will have less, or it's a purely cosmetic change that seems designed to cause trouble when the President disagrees with either the GM or Ownership(as we saw in Buffalo this year).

When Burke was hired all the talk was about how, after some of the infighting and power struggles that typified the Quinn-JFJ years, it was great to have one well-respected hockey mind running the whole show. What's changed, other than Burke's failure in the job, to make that a less desirable state of affairs? What successful team out there is this new management structure supposed to resemble?

Honestly, outside of Leiweke showing up tomorrow and saying "Shanahan will be doing X, Nonis will be doing Y" this just reads like Leiweke putting a stamp on the team for it's own sake while not having a genuine desire to shake up a team that really needs some shaking.

 

[Leaflifer]

I see we're all pretty fickle.

I know I'm sure the heck ain't ready to jump up and applaud.

 

[L K]

I'm a little skeptical of the move. Just in general I'm not really a fan of the concept of having there be an additional layer of management between the team's GM and the ownership without a very well defined role or responsibilities that fall outside the typical purview of the GM. Either you're giving the President significant authority when it comes to making hockey decisions, in which case the GM will have less, or it's a purely cosmetic change that seems designed to cause trouble when the President disagrees with either the GM or Ownership(as we saw in Buffalo this year).

When Burke was hired all the talk was about how, after some of the infighting and power struggles that typified the Quinn-JFJ years, it was great to have one well-respected hockey mind running the whole show. What's changed, other than Burke's failure in the job, to make that a less desirable state of affairs? What successful team out there is this new management structure supposed to resemble?

Honestly, outside of Leiweke showing up tomorrow and saying "Shanahan will be doing X, Nonis will be doing Y" this just reads like Leiweke putting a stamp on the team for it's own sake while not having a genuine desire to shake up a team that really needs some shaking.

I think that's a reasonable concern.  The team is messed up.  The front office acts like dinosaurs when it comes to cap management and advanced metrics.  The on-ice product is a mess. 

Shanahan on its own is just window dressing.  Without meaningful changes to the organization structure this doesn't much more than putting a recognizable name up high on a list.  I think Shanahan is a good hockey mind so that is never a bad thing to have in your organization but at the same time, if Nonis is still the GM, and by all accounts Shanahan wants to be more of a hockey+business operations guys (leads me to be believe he's more interested in numbers and marketing than actual on-ice decision making), it's still a GM office full of guys like Nonis, Fletcher and Loiselle who have squandered cap dollars and outright reject considering advanced metrics.

 

[KadriFan]

My guess is that he is being brought in to clean house.  Wouldn't be surprised if he replaces a few bodies including the GM.  Just my thoughts though....

 

[Kin]

But that's where I struggle with this. If Shanahan has significant power, what is on his resume that leads anyone to think that's a good idea? If he's not going to have significant power, who cares?

 

[Redleaf]

My guess is that he is being brought in to clean house.  Wouldn't be surprised if he replaces a few bodies including the GM.  Just my thoughts though....

I really don't see Nonis getting canned, at least not yet. He'll probably be allowed to find his own coach, and be given another season or two from there. This team could have a turn around season next year with a few additions and subtractions. Add another top 10 draft pick, and this season may be looked back upon as a minor setback (maybe even a necessary one) in their climb to respectability. Should I have posted this in the positive outlook thread?

 

[Redleaf]

But that's where I struggle with this. If Shanahan has significant power, what is on his resume that leads anyone to think that's a good idea? If he's not going to have significant power, who cares?

Think of it like the Ken Dryden hire in the late 90's. I think it'll be much the same.

 

[Kin]

Think of it like the Ken Dryden hire in the late 90's. I think it'll be much the same.

That doesn't really answer the question. Quinn and Dryden didn't have the greatest of relationships and Dryden wanted Gainey as GM when Quinn got the job. So...should I think of him as a largely meaningless figurehead?

 

[Redleaf]

Think of it like the Ken Dryden hire in the late 90's. I think it'll be much the same.

That doesn't really answer the question. Quinn and Dryden didn't have the greatest of relationships and Dryden wanted Gainey as GM when Quinn got the job. So...should I think of him as a largely meaningless figurehead?

That's pretty much what I'm thinking, at least until we hear more.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

This is from Sportsnet:

His duties are expected to be wide-ranging and include involvement in business, marketing and other league-related matters. In other words, he won?t be negotiating contracts or helping manage the salary cap.

Those duties will continue to be performed by Nonis. It is unclear what impact, if any, Shanahan?s hiring will have on senior vice-president of hockey operations Dave Poulin and assistant general manager Claude Loiselle. It is believed that they remained in the dark about their futures as of Thursday night.

 

[Optimus Reimer]

This is from Sportsnet:

His duties are expected to be wide-ranging and include involvement in business, marketing and other league-related matters. In other words, he won?t be negotiating contracts or helping manage the salary cap.

Those duties will continue to be performed by Nonis. It is unclear what impact, if any, Shanahan?s hiring will have on senior vice-president of hockey operations Dave Poulin and assistant general manager Claude Loiselle. It is believed that they remained in the dark about their futures as of Thursday night.

As other posters have mentioned, how the Leafs managed the cap and drafted players has pretty much sucked.  Hopefully Shanahan can put some people in place with good hockey minds who can resolve these issues, or give Poulin and Loiselle the tools they need to do their jobs better.

 

[Redleaf]

David Alter ‏@DavidAlter590  6m
It is now official. Brendan Shanahan is the President and Alternate Governor of the Maple Leafs.

 

[Deebo]

David Alter ‏@DavidAlter590  6m
It is now official. Brendan Shanahan is the President and Alternate Governor of the Maple Leafs.

Within the timeline that Cox reported too.

 

[L K]

David Alter ‏@DavidAlter590  6m
It is now official. Brendan Shanahan is the President and Alternate Governor of the Maple Leafs.

Within the timeline that Cox reported too.

Someone said it last night, but if Cox is going to be the face of "insider" for Sportsnet next year, it would make sense that they would feed information to him.  It might be a little telling that Dreger didn't get the information from Nonis.

 

[Peter D.]

Any thoughts on Cox's suggestion that Shanahan is going to be groomed as Leiweke's successor? 

I personally don't see it as I think Leiweke is here for the long haul, contrary to what Cox believes.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Any thoughts on Cox's suggestion that Shanahan is going to be groomed as Leiweke's successor? 

I personally don't see it as I think Leiweke is here for the long haul, contrary to what Cox believes.

I think being the CEO of a billion dollar entity might be a bit over Shanny's head.