There will soon be a new sheriff in Toronto. The Toronto Star and TSN’s Bob McKenzie are reporting that while the contract is not finalized, NHL director of player safety Brendan Shanahan has agreed to become the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As reported by @TorontoStar, can confirm Brendan Shanahan finalizing arrangements to leave NHL to take executive pos’n with Maple Leafs.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) April 10, 2014
Yesterday, McKenzie reported that Shanahan had been approached for a role by MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke earlier this week. The position will be senior to Leafs vice-president and general manager Dave Nonis, but beneath Leiweke.
Shanahan is a Hockey Hall of Famer who played for the St. Louis Blues, New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers in his NHL career.
With 656 career goals, Shanahan sits 13th on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring list. He finished with 1354 career points in 1524 career games. Shanahan is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion (1997, 1998, 2002 all with Detroit) and won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 2002 Salt Lake City games with Team Canada.
Shanahan retired from playing in 2009 and immediately began working with the league in a front office role. He took the position of director of player safety in 2011 as the NHL began an initiative to cut down on dangerous hits and reduce concussions.
The move comes on the heels of the Vancouver Canucks naming Trevor Linden as President of Hockey Operations. McKenzie reports that Leiweke approached Shanahan shortly after the Linden rumors began to leak out.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @lastwordBkerr. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter –@LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our hockey writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
Main Photo:
