The Top 3 Outrageous Stories About the Toronto Maple Leafs President

The Most Outrageous Brendan Shanahan Story

The most outrageous Shanahan story is one that some believe is drenched with scandal. In reality, it’s actually a love story.

For many years there have been unsubstantiated rumours that there was something untoward about Shanahan’s exit from the Blues. When he was traded away in 1995, Blues fans believed that Keenan made a hockey decision. The trade was later blamed on the relationship between him and his former teammate Craig Janney’s wife. This helped make the swap more digestible.

On the ice, Janney and Shanahan played well together. They were considered a dynamic duo with the nickname “Shannie and Janney“. Off the ice, the pair were very close as well. The same can be said about Shanahan and Janney’s wife, Catherine, who Shanahan later married.

It has been reported on several sites that much like Janney and his then-wife, the Blues needed to divorce themselves from Shanahan. They allegedly couldn’t keep Shanahan in the dressing room with his “former best friend” because of his new relationship, and so they traded him.

The truth is, Janney had already long departed to the San Jose Sharks. Understanding the timeline of events may be what makes this a very confusing situation. On March 3, 1994, the Blues signed center Petr Nedved, then a 22-year-old restricted free agent. As previously outlined, the NHL rules at the time required compensation in return for signing another team’s RFA. The Vancouver Canucks asked for Shanahan to be sent their way but the Blues refused. An arbitrator ruled that the Canucks would get Janney and a second-round pick instead.

Even though St. Louis had claimed to be victorious in the arbitrator’s decision, they wanted to reacquire Janney and that’s exactly what they did. Keenan sent defencemen Jeff Brown and Bret Hedican along with forward Nathan LaFayette to Vancouver for the rights to Janney on March 21 that year.

Almost exactly one year later, the Blues had a change of heart and shipped Janney and cash to the Sharks for Jeff Norton and a third-round pick. This is significant because the swap took place four months before Keenan pulled the trigger on the Shanahan deal.

Despite Shanahan being sent to the Whalers, he kept in touch with Catherine. And while her marriage to Janney dissolved, her new relationship with Shanahan blossomed. Despite the turmoil of changing cities and skeptical onlookers, they managed to let their romance shine bright. The pair got hitched in 1998.

The problem with rumours and hearsay is that they can have real consequences. It is believed that the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee punished Shanahan for his time in St. Louis. They apparently believed that he was traded out of the city because of tensions with Janney over the budding relationship with Catherine. This could be a potential reason why Shanahan wasn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer despite being labeled as such along with Joe Sakic on NHL.com in 2012. This snubbing by the Selection Committee forced Shanahan to wait an extra year to enjoy the honour.

As for the Toronto Maple Leafs President and Catherine. Their love is still undefeated. They remain married today and even have three children together.

While it may be fun to revisit some of Shanahan’s best tales, it would certainly be better to regale about a time when he won Lord Stanley’s Mug with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hopefully, this will one day be added to the repertoire of stories about the stoic executive.