At first glance, the hiring of Brendan Shanahan as the new president of a confused Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club looked like a cheap cover up to the team’s recent meltdown towards the end of their regular season. Something needed to happen in order to at least somewhat satisfy a more than disgruntled fan base that instead of gearing up for a second consecutive stint in the playoffs, they find themselves rushing out to get the latest and greatest Toronto Raptors’ gear. However, the more you dive into the details regarding Shanahan’s sudden hiring, the more the new position seems to make sense for the Hall of Famer and the Leafs as well.
Believe it or not, Shanahan’s previous position of Director of Player Safety with the NHL was more random than his new gig as the president of the Leafs. Shanahan made a living out of playing a style of hockey that included getting the extra shot in on an opponent behind the play whenever he possibly could. Shanahan was what I like to call ‘tastefully dirty’ whenever he stepped on the ice, especially as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Rather than ensuring his new hockey club is playing a squeaky clean style of hockey, which is something he’s spent the last few seasons doing in the NHL’s front office, Shanahan is most likely going to dive back into his roots of hard nosed hockey, and assemble a team that revolves around this notion.
The relationship between Shanahan and the Leafs in that respect may very well be the perfect marriage. The Leafs ranked sixth in the league in penalty minutes with a total of 1040. They also racked up a league high 48 major penalties. Don’t expect this to change moving into the 2014-15 season and beyond. Shanahan was no stranger to this style of play as he managed to accumulate a total of 2489 penalty minutes in his more than productive 22-season career.
Along with bringing some much needed grit to a Leafs’ front office, that can otherwise be classified as a bunch of hockey IQ challenged suits, Shanahan brings his vast knowledge of the game and the respect that he already commands from his peers in the hockey world. Shanahan undoubtedly already has a great number of relationships with many team and NHL executives across the league, and will perhaps have an easier time opening up talks in regards to future transactions and acquisitions. Along with the respect that he commands from those that have a similar job to what he will have with the Leafs, Shanahan will be a familiar face for the Leafs’ players themselves to look up to and to toward for advice as well.
Even though this is going to be Shanahan’s first go-around within an NHL team’s front office, what he was able to do as a player, along with the relationships he has made around the NHL, will provide him with the skills to assemble a powerful hockey club. He knows and respects the importance of the sport within the city of Toronto and will do everything he can to stop what has been a long and bumpy road for fans of the Maple Leafs. Unlike so many that make up the MLSE sports conglomerate, Shanahan knows the insides and outs of the game of hockey, which is an invaluable characteristic to possess, especially when working for a team like the troubled Toronto Maple Leafs.