Marc-André Fleury would have joined the Maple Leafs had it not been for a senior executive in Toronto

What’s interesting, that said, is that there aren’t exactly many people above the GM in a team’s hierarchy. There are the owners, of course… and sometimes there’s a president and/or vice-president.

And as it happens, in Toronto, a certain Brendan Shahanan was President at the time…

Walsh won’t confirm whether it was Shanahan, so it’s not completely impossible that the order came from the team’s owners. That said, owners usually stay out of decisions… so the odds are still pretty good that Shanahan was behind it.

We don’t know if Fleury would have changed anything in Toronto in 2022 (and possibly in subsequent years, given Walsh’s claim that there was an opening to sign a contract extension), but it’s interesting to see that Flower in Maple Leaf colors really came close.

And for those of you who never wanted to see Fleury in that uniform, chances are Brendan Shanahan did you a favor, hehe.

Overtime

– Whew.

– Interesting.

– Still.