TORONTO — Everything about Brendan Shanahan screams hockey. His upbringing, his career, his hair.
But the primary lesson we’re learning about the Hall of Famer as an executive is that he’s awfully comfortable operating outside of the narrow confines usually imposed on decision-makers in the sport.
The NHL is basically a small town and it is a notoriously conservative one at that. It is not the sort of place where you would expect to see an organization wipe out three-quarters of its scouting department, an entire coaching staff and a general manager in the span of a couple hours.
At least not until Shanahan decisively set about remodelling the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, with all indications suggesting he’s going for a drastically different look.
The successor to Dave Nonis isn’t likely to be as experienced as Dave Nonis. This isn’t guaranteed, of course, but the kind of candidate Shanahan wants virtually assures it. The next GM in Toronto has to be comfortable sliding into a front office already well under construction — one where Kyle Dubas and Mark Hunter have and will continue to have a big say.
“This job won’t be for some general managers, but those general managers won’t be for us,” Shanahan explained at his season-closing press conference. “The one statement I don’t really like to say too much is ‘this is how it’s always been done.’ That doesn’t really make much sense to me.”
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Dubas and Hunter are now sharing the role of interim GM while a search is performed, and one rumour making the rounds Monday had Sean Burke being tabbed as the man most likely to join them in the front office.
Precise titles, still to be determined.
All Shanahan would allow is that he remains open to any and all candidates at this point. He is also in no rush — willing to hire both a head coach and attend the NHL draft in June before filling the GM’s seat, if necessary.
Should he end up doing either, you can add that to the list of things almost no other NHL organization would even consider.
Despite the unique approach, Shanahan isn’t concerned about the potential candidates he might scare off in the process. The president won’t make any apologies for doing things his own way.
“There’ll be no shortage of the right people that want to be a part of this,” said Shanahan, before adding: “I believe we are building a very capable and dedicated staff of people. The type of general manager that I want to bring to Toronto is someone that recognizes that and wants to be a part of that team.”
It could wind up being a fascinating exercise in franchise-building. There is an obvious paucity of high-level NHL executive experience among this group and should Sean Burke or Mike Futa or Julien BriseBois become GM — rather than say the likes of Ray Shero or George McPhee — it would arguably be the greenest front office in the league.
Shanahan doesn’t mind stepping out on that ledge.
Last summer he made Dubas the team’s assistant GM at age 28 and started investing heavily in an analytics department. His willingness to clear out 17 scouts — 11 of them on the amateur side — as part of Sunday’s purge was described as “ballsy” by one Western Conference executive.
Others around the league likely had stronger words for it. In the NHL, this is not how things are done.
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The biggest reason why Shanahan can pull it off is that he has the political capital to do it. He made it clear to MLSE boss Tim Leiweke before taking the job that he would only do so if given the ability to chase the Stanley Cup and all indications suggest the board is behind his current plan.
“They understand that that there are no short cuts,” said Shanahan. “Short cuts have gotten this organization into trouble in the past and that this has to once and for all be a build that we are committed to and that we don’t stray from.”
Remember that this is a franchise with just one playoff appearance since the salary cap was instituted. John Ferguson Jr. was hampered by meddling from the board, Brian Burke traded away top picks for Phil Kessel and couldn’t find a goalie, and Nonis invested heavily in a flawed core.
Shanahan is essentially next in line with the support of the hockey operations department he’s constructing.
When you get down to it, his vision isn’t unlike that of most top hockey men — even if he’s shown more willingness to step outside of the boundaries. You have to draft and develop and be patient and make good personnel decisions to have success in the NHL.
“The challenge here in Toronto is not to come up with the plan,” said Shanahan. “The challenge in Toronto is to stick to it.”
Not only does he seem to have the disposition, he’s intent on charting his own course towards the destination.