Brendan Shanahan Remains As Toronto Maple Leafs President
Like Pelley, Shanahan reiterated the Maple Leafs' commitment to win, but that's what anyone in his position would say.
Those comments only need to be taken seriously by those controlling the money.
However, Shanahan took some blame for the Maple Leafs shortcomings in the playoffs, saying, “Our results in the playoffs have not been good enough. That’s on me”.
He then addressed the firing of Sheldon Keefe before making some concerning comments regarding the future of this team.
Shanahan was quoted saying,
“There is a time when you look at the age and development of players and you talk about patients. But there comes a time when you see certain patterns and repeat themselves, results repeat themselves and that’s what we have to do this summer.”
Shanahan continued by refusing to single any specific players out.
While the Maple Leafs need to make some significant changes, they need to be smart about it, considering they need to get Mitch Marner and John Tavares's contracts off the books. This aggressiveness that the front office is discussing needs to still be thought out with the best interest of this team's future in mind.
Shanahan should know it better than anybody at this point with the Maple Leafs and all the different players that they have had. Winning a Stanley Cup is hard. There is no reason to go all in if it will jeopardise your ability to compete in future years. Outside of Tavares’s, the core four are still very young and technically just entering the prime ages of their career. Breaking them up now could be a massive mistake.