The Toronto Maple Leafs most successful eras in their franchise's history coincided with stability at the top.
Conn Smythe presided over the team for 29 years during which the team won seven Stanley Cup championships. Punch Imlach's tenure lasted 14 years and brought four titles.
Each of them filled different roles within the organization. Smythe was the Leafs longtime owner, and he and Imlach served as the general manager and coach.
The Leafs and their fans don't need a reminder that the team has not won a championship since the midpoint of the Imlach era.
Another playoff disaster with a star-studded roster plus the firing of head coach Sheldon Keefe has turned the heat up on Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan.
There Are Positives To Be Found in the Toronto Maple Leafs Decision to Keep Brendan Shanahan
Smythe's Leafs had a .547 points percentage while Imlach's Leafs were at .539. They oversaw winning teams more often than not.
Fans of a certain vintage will recall the dreadful reign of Harold Ballard during the 1980s. The Leafs not only went years without a legitimate, respectable team, but were a league laughingstock.
The underdog Leafs of the early 1990s, under Cliff Fletcher and Pat Burns, had two memorable, final four playoff runs. Pat Quinn and Mats Sundin helped the Leafs to two more Conference Finals.
The rest of those years saw the Leafs alternate between middling and bottom-feeder, with no realistic hope for a title.
The appointment of Shanahan to Leafs president changed all of that. Their record over the last ten years hovers around a .600 points percentage.