Brendan Shanahan grateful for opportunity to work with Maple Leafs for 11 years

Former Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan expressed gratitude for the chance to work with his childhood team for over a decade.

The architect of the Leafs’ rebuild was first hired by the franchise in 2014, joining the team right at its lowest point and with little progress to show for it. Within three years of his hiring, the Leafs were able to draft the likes of William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and Auston Matthews, recruit Mike Babcock and Lou Lamoriello, and reach the playoffs a season after finishing dead last.

While Shanahan warmed up to the term Leafs fans used to describe the turnaround in the ‘Shanaplan,’ he stated that his goal was to build a team capable of winning the Stanley Cup and then winning it.

“When your season ends and you’re not the winner, you’re devastated,” he said to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston. “I came here 11 years ago and I had really two goals: I wanted to rebuild the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, on and off the ice, and I wanted to win a Stanley Cup. I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish the job, but I think we’ve rebuilt the Toronto Maple Leafs.”

Things may have started off promising for Shanahan, but by the end fans grew frustrated with the lack of progress and results in the postseason, with only two second-round appearances by the time of his dismissal on May 22. He was able to help convince John Tavares to come home and form the nucleus of the team dubbed the Core Four. They were able to reach the playoffs in their seven seasons together, but the mounting playoff losses were what the fans couldn’t look past with Shanahan’s work.

Shanahan strived to stick with the plan he set out for the team when he first joined. And while he can be commended for sticking to his guns for as long as he did, his faith in the Core Four ultimately proved to be his downfall.

“Sure, you’re going to have decisions that you’d like to have back, but I think what we’ve built, I’m confident that they can still get the job done,” he said. “Unfortunately, I won’t be around to see it finished, but it would give me a lot of joy to see them finish it.”

Even though his tenure with the Leafs yielded no Cups, Shanahan has no regrets for getting the chance to be part of his boyhood team. The newly released season of Amazon Prime’s Faceoff: Inside the NHL documents the final days of the Shanaplan era, but the joy he felt working the job never wavered, even as the outside pressure was as high as ever.

Recounting memories of being a kid watching the Leafs on TV and riding the waves on their trials and tribulations, getting the chance to be in his position for 11 years will be something that sticks with him for the rest of his life.

“I was very serious about my job,” he said. “I just wanted to do the work, and I wanted to make the team better, and I wanted to deliver, but I would still remind myself from time to time that, ‘This is special,’ and, ‘Enjoy it.’ It was the honour of a lifetime. I leave here now with nothing but gratitude.”